Smile launch highlights
ESA's Smile satellite successfully launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana. This joint mission with the Chinese Academy of Sciences aims to study Earth's response to solar wind. The satellite will enhance our understanding of solar storms and space weather phenomena.
- ▪The Smile satellite launched on 19 May 2026 at 04:52 BST.
- ▪The Vega-C rocket used three solid-propellant stages and one liquid-propellant stage for the launch.
- ▪Smile will utilize four science instruments to conduct its research.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
ESA’s Smile satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026.Smile flew to space on Vega-C flight VV29. At 35 m tall, a Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and the rocket used three solid-propellant-powered stages to take Smile to orbit before the fourth liquid-propellant stage took over for a precise drop-off around Earth.Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).Smile will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Esa.
