{"dataset":{"slug":"institution-types","title":"Institution Types","description":"The classes of space institution — space agencies, field centers, research laboratories, science institutes, commercial companies, and observatory operators.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":6,"sources":["nasa","esa"]},"entities":[{"id":"institution_type:commercial-space-company","name":"Commercial Space Company","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"A private company that develops launch vehicles, spacecraft, or satellites — increasingly under contract to space agencies. SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and the established aerospace primes span the field.","entryPath":"/institutions/commercial-space-company"},{"id":"institution_type:field-center","name":"Field Center","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"A specialised research and operations centre of a space agency, each focused on a distinct role — building spacecraft, training astronauts, running mission control, testing engines, or launching rockets. NASA and ESA each run a family of them.","entryPath":"/institutions/field-center"},{"id":"institution_type:observatory-organisation","name":"Observatory Organisation","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"An organization that operates ground-based observatories and telescopes and supports the astronomical community — such as the European Southern Observatory, NSF NOIRLab, and the national astronomical observatories.","entryPath":"/institutions/observatory-organisation"},{"id":"institution_type:research-laboratory","name":"Research Laboratory","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"A laboratory that designs, builds, and operates spacecraft and instruments, often as a federally-funded centre managed for an agency by a university. JPL and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have built many of the great robotic missions.","entryPath":"/institutions/research-laboratory"},{"id":"institution_type:science-institute","name":"Science Institute","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"An independent institute that leads scientific research, operates a mission's science operations, or curates its data archives — from the Space Telescope Science Institute to independent research bodies that lead planetary missions.","entryPath":"/institutions/science-institute"},{"id":"institution_type:space-agency","name":"Space Agency","type":"institution_type","domain":"science","description":"A national or multinational government body that funds, directs, and carries out a country's space program — from human spaceflight and robotic exploration to Earth observation and launch. NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO, Roscosmos, and CNSA are the largest.","entryPath":"/institutions/space-agency"}]}