Ethics Policy

Author Contributions (CRediT)

SRC-JATA encourages use of the CRediT taxonomy (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to describe each author's role: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments should recognize contributions that do not meet authorship criteria (e.g., technical assistance, routine data collection, language editing, or administrative support). Authors must obtain consent from named individuals. Any use of generative AI tools must be disclosed in the Acknowledgments, including the tool name/version and the nature of the contribution.

Affiliations & Citations

Authors must provide accurate institutional affiliations reflecting where the work was primarily conducted. Citations must be relevant, accurate, and appropriately balanced. Authors should avoid excessive self-citation or citation practices intended to manipulate metrics.

Workflow and Stages

1. Submission completeness checks and initial screening
2. Initial editorial screening for scope fit and policy compliance
3. Assignment to a handling editor with subject expertise
4. External peer review by a minimum of two independent reviewers
5. Editorial decision based on reviewer reports and editor assessment
6. Revision, re-review (if required), and final decision

Conflicts of Interest in Peer Review

Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when a conflict of interest exists or could reasonably be perceived, including current or recent collaboration, same institution, financial relationships, or personal relationships with authors. Authors may identify non-preferred reviewers with justification; such requests are considered but not guaranteed.

Submissions from Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by Editorial Board Members are handled independently, with the submitting member recused from all editorial decisions related to that manuscript. The same peer-review standards apply to all submissions regardless of the author's role in the journal.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Editors and reviewers must not share, distribute, or use submitted material for personal advantage. Reviewers should not upload manuscripts to external services or AI tools that could compromise confidentiality or store content.

Desk Rejection Policy

SRC-JATA may decline a submission without external review when it:

• Is outside the journal's scope or lacks a substantive space science or aerospace engineering contribution
• Has insufficient methodological detail (e.g., missing system, mission, or sensor parameters)
• Shows clear indicators of plagiarism, redundant publication, fabricated/falsified data, or manipulated images
• Does not comply with submission requirements in a way that prevents meaningful peer review

Images and Figures Integrity

Figures must accurately represent the underlying data. Image and imagery adjustments must be applied uniformly and must not alter scientific meaning. Selective enhancement, removal, or insertion of features is not permitted. Authors must retain original image files (including raw satellite or sensor imagery) and be prepared to provide them upon request. Reuse of third-party figures requires written permission and proper attribution.

Data Sharing Expectations

• Preferred practice: Deposit datasets, calibration files, and analysis scripts in a recognized repository and cite them with a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI)
• If data cannot be shared (security/safety restrictions, privacy, proprietary constraints): state the limitation clearly and describe the access pathway (e.g., controlled access on reasonable request)
• For remote sensing and satellite measurement studies: report sufficient metadata — sensor/platform type, acquisition parameters, calibration, uncertainty — to enable meaningful interpretation even when raw data are restricted

Data Availability Statement

All submissions must include a Data Availability statement. Acceptable examples:

• "Data are available in the [Repository Name] repository at [persistent link/DOI]."
• "Data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request due to [reason]."
• "No new data were created or analyzed in this study."

Standards of Reporting

SRC-JATA expects reporting that enables technical assessment and reproducibility. At minimum, manuscripts must describe: system, mission, or platform type; orbital, flight, or sensor parameters; measurement or performance metrics; instrumentation and calibration; and uncertainty or validation analysis where applicable.

Funder & Institutional Compliance

Authors are responsible for complying with applicable funder and institutional requirements for data management, open access, acknowledgements, and reporting. Where mandates exist, authors must describe their compliance in the manuscript.

Studies Involving Human Participants

Human-subject research must have prior approval from an appropriate ethics committee and must follow recognized ethical principles (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki). Submissions must include the approving body name, approval number, and date. Authors must confirm that participant anonymity is protected and that the required consents were obtained.

Sensitive Imagery & Data

Research involving remote sensing, aerial imagery, or geospatial data must comply with applicable national and international regulations, including privacy and security restrictions relevant to the imaged area or population. Authors should confirm that data acquisition and use complied with any required permits or authorizations.

Informed Consent & Privacy

Where informed consent is required, authors must state how consent was obtained and how confidentiality was maintained. For imaging or datasets that could enable re-identification, controlled-access arrangements or appropriate anonymization are required. SRC-JATA requires that manuscripts protect participant and third-party privacy; identifiers should be removed or minimized, and any potentially identifying information must be scientifically justified and covered by appropriate consent.

Consent for Publication

When a manuscript includes identifiable personal information (e.g., imaging data, photographs, or case details), authors must obtain documented consent for publication from the participant (or authorized representative) and confirm this in the manuscript.

Author Copyright Retention

Authors retain copyright in their work unless stated otherwise by the publisher's terms. By publishing in SRC-JATA, authors grant the journal and publisher the rights necessary to publish, distribute, and make the article available in all formats and channels.

Open Access & Licensing

SRC-JATA supports open access dissemination of published articles to maximize visibility, reuse, and public benefit. Published articles are typically licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY), allowing reuse with proper attribution. The exact license applied to each article is indicated on the published article page.

Use of Third-Party Material

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reuse copyrighted material (figures, tables, large text excerpts, questionnaires, imagery, or maps) and for providing correct attribution. Permission documentation must be available upon request. Authors must ensure they hold or have secured the rights to publish all included material.

Preprints

Authors may post manuscripts on reputable preprint servers (e.g., arXiv, ESSOAr, TechRxiv) prior to submission or during review. Authors must disclose preprint posting at submission and provide the persistent preprint link/identifier. Upon publication, the preprint record should be updated to link to the published version of record.

Author Self-Archiving

Authors may share their accepted manuscript (post-print) and/or the published version in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving terms and the license applied to the article. The shared version must include appropriate attribution and a link to the published version of record.

Digital Preservation

SRC-JATA is establishing a long-term digital preservation arrangement to support accessibility of the scholarly record. Repository records should include sufficient metadata and, where possible, a persistent identifier to support citation and discovery.

AI in Writing & Research

SRC-JATA permits limited use of AI-assisted tools for language polishing or productivity (e.g., grammar checking, translation assistance), provided use is disclosed and the authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the work. AI tools may not be listed as authors.

Any AI assistance that materially affected wording, analysis, code generation, or figure creation must be described in the manuscript (e.g., in Acknowledgments or Methods), including the tool name/version and the nature of its contribution.

AI in Peer Review

Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts or confidential peer review materials to external AI tools or third-party platforms that could store or reuse content. Any permitted internal tools must not compromise manuscript confidentiality or the integrity of the review process.

How to Appeal or Complain

Appeals should be submitted in writing through the journal's official contact channel (aerospace@src.edu.iq). Authors should identify the manuscript (submission ID and title), specify the decision being appealed, and provide a concise, evidence-based argument for reconsideration. Complaints about misconduct should include supporting information sufficient to enable initial screening.

Standards for Successful Appeals

An appeal is more likely to be successful when it demonstrates a material error in the decision process (e.g., objective misinterpretation of a method or data), or identifies factual inaccuracies in reviewer reports that influenced the decision. Disagreement with reviewer opinion alone is typically insufficient unless supported by clear evidence of error or bias.

Assessment Process

Appeals are screened by the Editor-in-Chief (or a delegated senior editor). Where warranted, additional expert opinion may be sought. Complaints and ethics allegations are assessed confidentially following recognized publication ethics procedures. When appropriate, SRC-JATA may involve the authors' institutions, funders, or other responsible parties. SRC-JATA treats all appeals and complaints as confidential editorial matters and aims to treat all parties fairly.

Guest Editors

Guest Editors are appointed based on subject expertise and integrity expectations. They must disclose conflicts of interest and agree to follow SRC-JATA policies and confidentiality requirements. Guest Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest; such manuscripts are reassigned to an independent editorial board member.

Editorial Independence

Special Issue submissions are managed using the standard editorial workflow. Publication decisions are based solely on scientific merit and adherence to journal policies. Special Issue timelines are published on the journal website and may be adjusted to preserve review quality.