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SMILE in Orbit: VV29 Lights Up the Guyanese Sky
On May 19th, at 00.52 AM local time (03.52 UTC; 05.52 AM CEST), Avio successfully launched the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) scientific satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana with a Vega C launcher.
During the night of May 18–19, Vega-C successfully completed its VV29 mission by placing the SMILE satellite into orbit, the result of an unprecedented cooperation between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The satellite was delivered to a circular low Earth orbit, at an altitude of approximately 700 km, for a mission to a high inclination and high elliptical orbit with a perigee of 5,000 km and an apogee of 121,000 km. The flight lasted 57 minutes from lift-off to separation of the satellite.
SMILE will measure the solar wind and its dynamic interactions with the Earth’s magnetosphere, enhancing our understanding of the connection between the Sun and the Earth.
The mission, called VV29, has been the first Vega C launch operated by Avio as Launch Service Operator.
More info abut the mission here.
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