On 26 March 2026, the Smile spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Vega-C rocket fairing at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana — the last time human eyes will ever see it directly. For a team that spent nearly a decade building the mission, it was a quietly emotional milestone. Liftoff is scheduled for 9 April.
Smile — the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer — is a joint ESA and Chinese Academy of Sciences mission designed to observe how the solar wind and solar storms interact with Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. The data it collects will deepen our understanding of space weather and help protect satellites, communications infrastructure, and future astronauts.
Vega-C can lift more than 3,000 kg to orbit. This launch marks the rocket's return to service following the VV22 anomaly in 2022 and a successful return-to-flight mission in 2024.