Acquiring signal…

Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)

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Avio S.p.A

Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)

Success

Vega-C

T-minus to liftoff

HOURS

MINUTES

SECONDS

Tuesday May 19 2026, 03:52:10 UTC

StatusSuccess

Scrub riskMODERATE

Go69%

VehicleVega-C

OrbitElliptical Orbit

PadAriane Launch Area 1 (ELV)

Launch CodexDossier

Every source for this mission in one place — news, social, references, notes & the exact timeline.

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Acquiring satellite view…

General trajectory

Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Launching

North

20° · NNE

5.236, -52.775

Orbital elements (TLE)

2 element sets

Orbit

Apogee708 km

Perigee698 km

Period98.8 min

Inclination70.02°

Launch heading 20° · NNE from SMILE PO.

Parking orbitSMILE PO› conehigh

1 70090U 26109A 26139.17689815 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 9990

2 70090 70.0092 242.4059 0244502 013.1174 064.7000 15.09421409 08

OrbitSMILEhigh

1 70090U 26109A 26139.19842593 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 9996

2 70090 70.0203 242.3644 0007001 062.9672 131.7000 14.57056741 07

Pre-launch TLEs from Dillon's Space Page. Estimated before flight — the real orbit is confirmed post-launch.

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Mission

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.

Q's read

Weather & scrubMODERATE risk

Weather Go69%Wind4 m/sGusts7 m/sCloud84%Temp28°C

Limiting rule: No flight within 10 nmi of an attached thunderstorm anvil.

12 high-cloud pixels (≥10 km top); nearest 10.8 nmi · no GLM flashes within 25 nmi / 30 min, likely cirrus rather than active anvil

Launch Timeline

In-flight

T+00:00:00

Liftoff

T+00:02:25

Stage 2 Separation

T+00:02:26

SES

T+00:04:30

Stage 3 Separation

T+00:04:37

Stage 3 Ignition

T+00:04:42

Fairing Separation

T+00:07:14

Kick Stage Separation

T+00:20:23

Kick Stage Ignition

T+00:24:32

Kick Stage Cut-off

T+00:52:57

Kick Stage Burn

T+00:54:52

Kick Stage Cut-off

T+00:56:24

Payload Separation

T+02:00:37

Kick Stage Ignition

T+02:01:44

Kick Stage Cut-off

Quick facts

VehicleVega-C

OrbitElliptical Orbit

PadAriane Launch Area 1 (ELV)

SiteGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana

WindowTuesday May 19 2026, 03:52:10 UTC→Tuesday May 19 2026, 03:52:10 UTC

Vehicle

FamilyVega

Height34.8 m

Diameter3 m

Stages4

ReusableNo

LEO capacity3,300 kg

Track record6/7 successful