Smile's journey from launch to orbit (esa.int)

• Launch on 19 May 2026 on Vega-C from Kourou
• 11 engine burns to achieve high polar orbit
• First X-ray/UV imaging of Earth's magnetic shield

"The ESA mission Smile (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) launches on 19 May 2026 aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. After reaching a 700 km circular orbit, the spacecraft will fire its engines 11 times to raise itself into a higher orbit above the North Pole. From there, it will use X-ray and ultraviolet instruments to observe how Earth's magnetic field interacts with solar wind and radiation bursts – a perspective never before achieved. Smile is a joint mission between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences."