European Space Agency, ESA 42d ago

The Smile spacecraft lifted off on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026. The launch marks the beginning of an ambitious mission to better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and the science of space weather. Following launch and separation from the rocket, the first signal from Smile was received by ESA’s New Norcia ground station in Australia at 06:49 CEST. The spacecraft’s solar panels then deployed, meaning that Smile can now collect sunlight to power its systems and science instruments. The completion of this operation marked the launch a success. 📹 ESA/CNES/Avio #ESA #Launch #Vega-C