Smile launched on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 19 May 2026.
Airbus Defence and Space in Spain built the payload module carrying three of Smile’s four science instruments and its instrument control and communications systems.
SMILE is a three-year scientific spacecraft.
Smile has a planned operational lifetime of three years.
Routine science operations for Smile are scheduled to begin in July.
SMILE was launched by a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Smile is now underway to study Earth’s magnetic shield.
Smile lifted off on Vega-C at 05:52 CEST on May 19, 2026.
Smile’s scientific orbit will last about two days and allow 40 hours of continuous observation of the day side of the magnetosphere.
Smile’s soft X-ray imager uses a lobster-eye design with square channels to detect X-rays from solar wind interactions with neutral hydrogen in the exosphere.
Smile has a launch mass of 2.2 tonnes, including 1.5 tonnes of propellant.
The ESA and its partners reduced Smile’s export-control-related delay from an estimated two years to one year.
Smile has a three-year nominal mission life.
The Rosat X-ray telescope discovered the X-ray emissions that later helped explain the solar-wind interaction behind Smile’s science goals.
Smile could be extended by up to two additional years if propellant remains and funding is approved.
Smile includes contributions from Airbus Defence & Space, INTA, Airbus Crisa, Sener, GTD, Alter, and HV Sistemas.
Smile’s final scientific orbit will reach 120,000 kilometers above the North Pole and dip to 7,000 kilometers above the South Pole to downlink data.
Smile’s CCD detectors must operate at -120°C during the mission.
Vega-C’s upper stage, Avum+, is designed to perform a controlled reentry after deploying Smile.
Smile was redrafted in 2020 after export-control restrictions forced the replacement of some components.