Overview
- SMILE, which launched Tuesday on a Vega‑C rocket from Kourou, reached orbit, sent first signal to ESA’s New Norcia station, and deployed its solar arrays minutes after separation.
- Over about 25 days the spacecraft will fire its engine repeatedly, using most of its propellant to reach a highly elliptical orbit that peaks near 121,000 km over the North Pole and dips to about 5,000 km over the South Pole.
- From that vantage point it can watch the aurora for up to 45 hours per 51‑hour orbit and, for the first time, image in soft X‑rays where the solar wind strikes Earth’s magnetic shield.
- The payload carries four tools: a UK‑built Soft X‑ray Imager with lobster‑eye optics, an Ultraviolet Imager, a Light Ion Analyser, and a Magnetometer to link wide‑field pictures with in‑situ measurements.
- ESA and China split responsibilities, with ESA providing the payload module and launch and CAS supplying the spacecraft platform and operations, while data will flow through ground stations in Antarctica (O’Higgins) and Sanya, with routine science expected to begin in July.