Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
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Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
April 9, 2026, 6:29 a.m. - April 9, 2026, 6:29 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
April 9, 2026, 6:29 a.m. - April 9, 2026, 6:29 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.
NET April 8.
Targeting early 2026
Targeting April 9 at 06:29 UTC
Adding launch NET April 2025
NET late 2025.
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
Smile is the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, a brand-new space mission currently in the making. It will study space weather and the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s environment.
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