On 11 February 2026, the Smile spacecraft was loaded into a ship in the Port of Amsterdam, ready for transport across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
On the way, it made a quick pit-stop in Saint Nazaire, France, to pick up the upper stage of the Vega-C rocket that will carry it to space and drop it off into orbit around Earth.
This image, taken by the Smile Product Assurance Manager Bruno Bras, was taken as Smile left the Port of Saint-Nazaire.
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