Mission description
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.
Launch index
Mission imagery · Vega-C
Launch Successful
Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
May 19, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Launch details
LAUNCH IN
T−00d00h00m00s
May 19, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC
Status: Launch Successful · Live feed refreshes every 30 seconds
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana · 5.2360, -52.7750
- Rocket
- Vega-C
- Launch probability
- Not published
- Window opens
- May 19, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC
- Window closes
- May 19, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC
- Feed updated
- May 20, 2026 at 10:47 AM UTC
Mission media
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ESA's Smile mission launch (Official broadcast)
Full video recordVehicle
Vega-C
Vega
Height
34.8 m
Diameter
3 m
LEO capacity
3,300 kg
Successful launches
7
Launch complex
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
The Guiana Space Centre is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.
Open mapConnected program records
Keep following the mission.
Same launch vehicle
Related Vega missions.
To Be Determined
Vega-C | IRIDE 1
December 31, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC
To Be Determined
Vega-C | IRIDE 2
December 31, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC
To Be Determined
Vega-C | KOMPSAT-6 & PLATiNO 1
April 30, 2027 at 12:00 AM UTC
To Be Determined
Vega-C | FLEX
April 30, 2027 at 12:00 AM UTC
Launch Successful
Vega-C | Sentinel-3C & FLEX
September 15, 2026 at 1:21 AM UTC
To Be Determined
Vega-C | PLATiNO 1
March 31, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC
Official links
Mission updates
Launch success with spacecraft acquisition & solar panels deployment.
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