The EU-China SMILE mission was launched on Monday night from Kourou, FranceGuyana,
The EU-China SMILE mission was launched on Monday night from Kourou, FranceGuyana, and its goal is to investigate how the solar wind affects Earth's magnetosphere and space weather.
The spacecraft launched aboard a Vega C rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou at 11:52 p.m. EST, or 5:52 a.m. local time, on May 19. According to the mission, everything went according to plan, and the three-stage rocket placed SMILE into a circular orbit at an altitude of 430 miles (707 kilometers) about 56 minutes after launch.
SMILE, short for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, carries four scientific instruments to study the impact of the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles from the Sun, on Earth. European Space Agency officials stated:
"In doing so, SMILE will advance our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and space weather science."
The spacecraft launched aboard a Vega C rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou at 11:52 p.m. EST, or 5:52 a.m. local time, on May 19. According to the mission, everything went according to plan, and the three-stage rocket placed SMILE into a circular orbit at an altitude of 430 miles (707 kilometers) about 56 minutes after launch.
SMILE, short for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, carries four scientific instruments to study the impact of the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles from the Sun, on Earth. European Space Agency officials stated:
"In doing so, SMILE will advance our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and space weather science."