Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
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Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
May 19, 2026, 3:52 a.m. - May 19, 2026, 3:52 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
May 19, 2026, 3:52 a.m. - May 19, 2026, 3:52 a.m.
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.
Rescheduled for May 19.
Launch delayed due to a technical issue on a subsystem component production line. New launch date TBA.
Targeting April 9 at 06:29 UTC
NET April 8.
Targeting early 2026
Vega-C is a single-body rocket nearly 35 m high with that weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad. As with Vega, its main elements are three solid-propellant stages, an upper stage powered by a reignitable liquid-propellant engine and a payload fairing. Vega-C's P120C first stage replaces Vega’s smaller P80 to provide a significant increase in thrust at liftoff. It is also used as boosters (2 or 4) for the Ariane 6 rocket.
See DetailsAvio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites.
INFO WIKI
The European-Chinese Smile mission is due to launch on Tuesday 19 May 2026, at 05:52 CEST / 04:52 BST / 00:52 local time on a European Vega-C rocket.
The Italian launch services provider Avio has postponed the launch of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) SMILE mission aboard a Vega C rocket after an issue was identified on the production line of a subsystem component. Avio began preparat…
The European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are joining hands to uncover how Earth defends itself against dangerous particles and radiation from the Sun.
ESA will be broadcasting live as the European-Chinese Smile mission launches at 07:29 BST/08:29 CEST (03:29 local time) on 9 April 2026.
What really happens when the Sun’s charged particles slam into Earth’s magnetic shield?
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