Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Status: Success | Launched: May 19, 2026 03:52 UTC
Launch Provider & Rocket
- Provider: Avio S.p.A (Commercial)
- Rocket: Vega-C — Vega family
Mission
Joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to investigate the interaction between Earth’s protective shield – the magnetosphere – and the supersonic solar wind.
- Type: Astrophysics
- Orbit: Elliptical Orbit (Elliptical)
Launch Site
- Pad: Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
- Location: Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
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Launch data sourced automatically from the Launch Library 2 API. Last refreshed: 2026-08-22T17:00:54.319141+00:00.