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SuccessWatch replay
Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Vega-CAvio S.p.AAriane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 · 03:52 AM UTC
Mission brief
The mission
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.
PayloadSolar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
OrbitElliptical
CustomerAvio S.p.A
Stages4
PadAriane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Flight plan
Mission timeline
14 / 14100%
The range
Where it leaves Earth
Launch site
Ground vector
Site locked
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Global range
- Latitude
- 5.236°N
- Longitude
- 52.775°W
Can I see this?
Distance and a plain visibility call from a place you choose. Trajectory is not modeled — night launches travel farther across the sky than daylight ones.
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Range weather
Launch commit criteria
Clear
Watch
TrackingNo active constraints
Weather rules
Clear — tracking no weather issues at this time.
- Primary concern
- No weather issues
- Rule count
- 0
- Temperature
- Not reported
- Surface wind
- Not reported
Window
03:52 AM UTC – 03:52 AM UTC
Hardware
Vehicle & provider
Reliability
Schedule history
No meaningful launch-time or status changes recorded.