Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 1961.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
51 people listed on the 990; $14.5M paid to officers and key staff.
S J Isakowitz’s $1.9M as President & CEO is at the 93rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 43 $100M+ science & technology nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S J Isakowitz | $1,918,234 | $1,952,121 | $1,789,274 | $1,588,867 | $1,172,697 | $1,282,396 |
| W H Goodman | $445,510 | $889,833 | $883,526 | $1,219,516 | $708,766 | $1,116,706 |
| M R Clinton | — | — | $310,460 | $680,059 | $649,820 | $1,040,061 |
| E M Swallow | $772,763 | $705,712 | $901,689 | $753,320 | $555,462 | $724,960 |
| J G Santee | $467,575 | $859,897 | $483,319 | $643,376 | $464,717 | $469,569 |
| T Pemberton | $835,121 | $542,627 | $656,028 | $520,149 | $383,840 | $98,169 |
| E M Beatty | — | — | — | — | $393,020 | $827,269 |
| J Morin | $803,217 | $715,563 | $671,416 | $505,233 | $561,604 | $540,028 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See The Aerospace Corporation executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Helps government and customers design, acquire, and operate complex space systems for mission success.
Questions for The Aerospace Corporation
Your first name shows with your question. The Aerospace Corporation answers here, for everyone.
The corporation's primary customer is the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) of the Air Force Space Command. The corporation fulfills the functions of an architect-engineer for space systems. It assists with engineering tasks required to develop space systems, from initial concept and design to deployment and operation.
Aerospace Civil Systems Group supports customers in three primary areas: NASA programs, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) programs and commercial, international and Homeland Security programs. The Civil Systems Group work enhances our mission assurance capabilities for our national security space customer, SMC.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported: a weakness in money controls.
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 5 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 5 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $750K | $704K | $588K | $597K | $556K |
| Given inLn 1b | $100K | $126K | $26K | $61K | $40K |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $55K | $15K | $40K | $20K | $15K |
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $90.5M | $96.2M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $0 | |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $523.7M | $558.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $780.4M | $845.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $857.5M | $791.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | −$77.1M | $54.0M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $23K | $23K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $776K | $776K | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $14.2M | $7.1M | $7.1M | |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $709.5M | $682.0M | $27.5M | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $66.2M | $59.9M | $6.2M | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $53.9M | $52.1M | $1.8M | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $45.1M | $43.5M | $1.6M | |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1.4M | $569K | $861K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $918K | $365K | $553K | |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $65K | $65K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $860K | $342K | $518K | |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.8M | $706K | $1.1M | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $351K | $338K | $13K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $24.7M | $24.3M | $353K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $55.2M | $53.9M | $1.4M | |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $22K | $22K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $41.2M | $40.2M | $1.0M | |
| TravelLn 17 | $9.9M | $9.4M | $500K | |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2.1M | $1.9M | $180K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $8.0M | $7.1M | $858K | |
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $43.8M | $42.2M | $1.6M | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $1.5M | $50K | $1.4M | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $38.6M | $36.4M | $2.2M | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | |||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.12B | $1.06B | $56.8M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Aug 6, 2026 | $1.6B | $1.6B | $65.2M | $529.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jul 25, 2025 | $1.4B | $1.3B | $44.7M | $432.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 5, 2024 | $1.3B | $1.3B | $35.2M | $355.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Jul 19, 2023 | $1.2B | $1.2B | $29.9M | $217.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 8, 2022 | $1.2B | $1.1B | $46.0M | $54.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Aug 10, 2021 | $1.2B | $1.1B | $49.6M | −$77.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,166,046,000 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 17 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,166,046,000 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,120,050,000 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $844,961,000 assets, 19 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $53,962,180 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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