Avio S.p.AVega-CAriane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Launched
May 19, 2026 · 03:52 UTC
Image: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique vidéo du CSG–S. Martin
Summary
Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launched on an Avio S.p.A Vega-C from Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana on May 19, 2026 at 03:52 UTC. It was Avio S.p.A's 1st launch, 1st this year and humanity's 7,287th orbital launch attempt. It was the 7th Vega-C flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Elliptical Orbit (Elliptical). It reached a 703 × 716 km orbit inclined 70.0°. One object from this launch is catalogued.
- Watch
- ESA's Smile mission launch (Official broadcast)European Space Agency, ESA
- Vega C | Flight VV29 | SMILE | AvioAvio SpA
- Vega C | Vol VV29 | SMILE | AvioAvio SpA
- Vehicle
- Vega-C · Avio S.p.A
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Astrophysics · Elliptical Orbit (Elliptical)for CAS, ESA
- Milestone
- 7th Vega-C flight · 1st this yearAvio S.p.A's 1st launch1st this yearhumanity's 7,287th orbital launch attempt114th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
SMILE · NORAD 69123 · 2026-109 · Space-Track
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2026-109A
- Epoch
- 2026-05-19 08:48:58 UTC
- Mean motion
- 14.57176218 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0009746
- Inclination
- 70.0069°
- Ascending node
- 241.761°
- Arg. of perigee
- 268.8898°
- Mean anomaly
- 91.1123°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 3
- B*
- 0.000011971
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: Elliptical. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Flight timeline
- T−0Liftoff
- T+2M25SStage 2 Separation
- T+2M26SSES
- T+4M30SStage 3 Separation
- T+4M37SStage 3 Ignition
- T+4M42SFairing Separation
- T+7M14SKick Stage Separation
- T+20M23SKick Stage Ignition
- T+24M32SKick Stage Cut-off
- T+52M57SKick Stage Burn
- T+54M52SKick Stage Cut-off
- T+56M24SPayload Separation
- T+2H37SKick Stage Ignition
- T+2H1M44SKick Stage Cut-off
Catalogued objects
1 catalogued: 1 payload; 1 still in orbit
- SMILE · NORAD 69123 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
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.
Official page: Launch Kit VV29Official page: Smile Launch Kit
News
APOD: 2026 October 6 – A Complete Auroral Oval from SMILEAPOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 6 – A… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. ESA, CAS, […]
ESA, CAS release first images from SMILE; officially begin science operationsFollowing its launch in May and a multi-month commissioning period, the joint European Space Agency…
Science begins for SmileOn 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the Sun. This follows a busy in-space commissioning period since the spacecraft launched on 19 May and reached its target orbit for science operations on 20 June.
Smile reaches science orbitFrom the ESA Blogs.
Pad
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
55th launch from Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), 1st this year · 333rd from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Local pad time at liftoff: May 19, 12:52 AM GMT-3, at night
56 launches from this pad · 336 from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
168 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Guiana Space Centre, French GuianaOpen in maps
Updates
Launch success with spacecraft acquisition & solar panels deployment.
Show 9 earlier updates
Spacecraft separation.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/19/2026 · source
Liftoff.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/19/2026 · source
Tweaked T-0.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/19/2026 · source
Official Webcast by European Space Agency, ESA has started
LL2 · 5/19/2026 · source
Rescheduled for May 19.
Cosmic_Penguin · 4/23/2026 · source
Launch delayed due to a technical issue on a subsystem component production line. New launch date TBA.
Nosu · 4/6/2026 · source
Targeting April 9 at 06:29 UTC
Nosu · 3/20/2026 · source
NET April 8.
Cosmic_Penguin · 10/24/2025 · source
Targeting early 2026
Nosu · 2/7/2025 · source
Questions
When did Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launch?
Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launched on May 19, 2026 at 03:52 UTC.
Where can I watch Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)?
Coverage: ESA's Smile mission launch (Official broadcast); Vega C | Flight VV29 | SMILE | Avio; Vega C | Vol VV29 | SMILE | Avio. Watch the replay
What rocket launched Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)?
Vega-C, flown by Avio S.p.A. Vega-C spec sheet
Where did Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launch from?
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana. Liftoff was May 19, 12:52 AM GMT-3 local time at the pad.
What orbit did Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) reach?
It reached a 703 × 716 km orbit inclined 70.0°.
How many satellites did Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).