Europe-China SMILE Solar Science Mission: From cleanroom to space | ESA
SMILE successfully launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on May 19, 2026.
This timelapse captures the excitement and precision of launch operations as the spacecraft begins its journey to study the connection between the Sun and Earth.
The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) is an international space science mission designed to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetosphere. By observing these dynamic processes from space, SMILE will help scientists better understand space weather and its effects on our planet's magnetic environment.
The European Space Agency (ESA) was responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributed to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences provided the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.
Duration: 3 minutes, 31 seconds
Release Date: June 1, 2026
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