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\t\t\t\t\t\t09\/03\/2026<\/span> The Smile spacecraft\u00a0has\u00a0arrived at\u00a0Europe\u2019s Spaceport\u00a0in French Guiana.\u00a0During\u00a0the\u00a0coming\u00a0weeks, the spacecraft will go through final preparations for\u00a0its\u00a0launch\u00a0on a Vega-C rocket\u00a0between 8 April and 7 May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Following a two-week journey from the Netherlands, the\u00a0Maritime\u00a0Nantaise\u00a0Colibri\u00a0cargo\u00a0ship\u00a0carrying Smile docked in Kourou, French Guiana on Thursday 26 February.<\/p>\n Smile team members Bruno Bras and Chris Runciman sent a joint statement upon arrival in French Guiana:<\/p>\n \u201cA memorable adventure aboard the MN Colibri ship. Cold,\u00a0wavy seas at departure\u00a0gave\u00a0way to warm, calm waters on arrival. Our\u00a0objective\u00a0was to safeguard the spacecraft environment and ensure continuous instrument purge. The journey felt both long and quick: far across the Atlantic, yet completed in\u00a0two weeks, always\u00a0at\u00a0\u2018school-zone speed\u2019\u00a0(our running joke on board).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Following\u00a0the docking, the containers\u00a0carrying the spacecraft and accompanying equipment\u00a0were carefully unloaded. They were then\u00a0taken by lorry to the Spaceport, which lies just a few kilometres\u00a0away\u00a0from the town of Kourou.<\/p>\n The first task for the onsite team was to unpack the spacecraft\u00a0\u2013 opening the box that it was shipped inside and gently placing it onto a dedicated platform.<\/p>\n Next\u00a0up, Smile will\u00a0go through a\u00a0full\u00a0health check\u00a0to\u00a0ensure that it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0damaged during the long journey, and\u00a0then\u00a0\u2018swallow\u2019\u00a01500 kg\u00a0of energising propellant for its journey in space, before\u00a0finally meeting\u00a0the\u00a0rocket\u00a0that will carry it to space.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smile travelled to Europe\u2019s Spaceport with\u00a0another friend onboard:\u00a0the\u00a0Vega-C\u00a0upper stage. This part of the rocket\u00a0will stay attached\u00a0to Smile until the last moment before dropping\u00a0it\u00a0off\u00a0in a very precise\u00a0orbit\u00a0around Earth. Vega-C is a\u00a0four-stage rocket\u00a0with each stage\u00a0expending\u00a0its fuel and\u00a0separating\u00a0one-by-one\u00a0to push Smile\u00a0away\u00a0from Earth’s surface.<\/p>\n Launch technicians have already\u00a0started building the Vega-C rocket on the launch pad. Vega-C is built up in the same order each stage will fire after liftoff.\u00a0First comes\u00a0the P120C\u00a0first stage,\u00a0then the\u00a0second stage Zefiro-40, and the third stage Zefiro-9.\u00a0These\u00a0stages\u00a0run on solid propellant and provide most of the\u00a0thrust needed\u00a0to\u00a0launch the\u00a02300-kg\u00a0spacecraft.\u00a0Photos from these preparations are available\u00a0here.<\/p>\n The fourth or \u2018upper\u2019\u00a0stage\u00a0of Vega-C\u00a0provides\u00a0precision\u00a0propulsion\u00a0to drop Smile off into a\u00a0low-Earth\u00a0orbit. From there,\u00a0the\u00a0spacecraft\u00a0will take over to bring itself to its\u00a0final,\u00a0very elliptical,\u00a0operational orbit\u00a0that goes\u00a0121 000 km above the North Pole\u00a0to collect data, before coming 5000 km above the South Pole to deliver it to waiting ground stations.<\/p>\n For the latest updates on the launch preparations,\u00a0visit our\u00a0dedicated page.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n About Smile<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n Smile\u00a0(the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).<\/i><\/p>\n Smile will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, Smile will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic\u00a0storms\u00a0and the science of space weather.<\/i><\/p>\n ESA\u00a0is\u00a0responsible for\u00a0providing Smile\u2019s payload module (which carries three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft\u2019s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once Smile is in orbit.<\/i><\/p>\n CAS\u00a0provides the other\u00a0three science instruments and the spacecraft\u00a0platform, and\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0operating\u00a0the spacecraft in orbit.<\/i><\/p>\n Smile is part of ESA’s\u00a0Cosmic Vision\u00a0programme, principally contributing to answering the question \u2018How does the Solar System work?\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n For more information, visit:\u00a0https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Smile<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n About Vega-C<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n Europe\u2019s\u00a0Vega-C\u00a0rocket can launch 2300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into their desired orbit around Earth.<\/i><\/p>\n Complementing the Ariane family to launch all types of payloads into their desired orbits, Vega-C ensures that Europe has versatile and independent access to space. ESA leads the Vega-C programme, working with\u00a0Avio\u00a0as prime contractor and design authority.<\/i><\/p>\n For more information, visit:\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t205<\/span> views<\/small><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nVega-C getting ready to launch Smile<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n