Vega - Europe's Newest Rocket

https://twitter.com/x/status/1991922999193452580
View: https://twitter.com/Arianespace/status/1991922999193452580


To allow for the completion of additional preparation and finalization activities on the Vega C launcher, the VV28 launch has been rescheduled.

The earliest targeted launch date is now November 30th, 2025, at 2:21 p.m. local time (5:21 p.m. UTC, 6:21 p.m. CET).

Vega C and its passenger, the KOMPSAT-7 satellite, are in stable and safe conditions.

This schedule adjustment has no impact on the VA266 launch for Galileo L14.
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Avio to Launch Four Earth Observation Satellites for Taiwan

By Andrew Parsonson -December 25, 2025

The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) has awarded Italian rocket builder Avio a launch contract for its FORMOSAT-8C and 8D, and FORMOSAT-9A and 9B Earth observation satellites.

On 19 December, Avio announced that it had signed two launch contracts with undisclosed customers, with a combined value of over €100 million. While the company left it up to the customers to make the announcement themselves, it did share that one of the customers was European and the other non-European.

Two days prior to Avio’s announcement, TASA published a tender award notice that revealed that Avio had been tapped to launch four satellites for its FORMOSAT Earth observation constellation. While the exact contract award amount is not disclosed, the notice does include a maximum budget for the project of NTD 2,556,750,000 (approximately €69 million).

FORMOSAT-8 will be a constellation of six high-resolution optical Earth observation satellites. The first was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in November. The next, FORMOSAT-8B, which does not yet have a publicly announced launch services provider, is, according to TASA, slated for launch in December 2026.

The FORMOSAT-9 constellation will be made up of two synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which are expected to be launched in 2028 and 2030, respectively.

All four satellites will be launched aboard Vega C rockets from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The rocket returned to flight in December 2024 following a two-year grounding after a December 2022 failure. In 2025, the rocket completed three successful missions, deploying payloads for the European Space Agency, the French space agency CNES, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

During an 18 December media briefing following the 342nd ESA Council meeting, acting Director of Space Transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen explained that between three and four Vega C flights would be completed in 2026. According to Tolker-Nielsen, this launch cadence target is “more a question of payloads than availability of rockets.”

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This launch is NET April 2026.
Smile sets sail for Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana
20/02/2026

Just over a year since Smile arrived in the Netherlands in two parts, the now-complete and thoroughly-tested spacecraft has left for good. With a launch window set for 8 April – 7 May on a Vega-C rocket, the joint European-Chinese mission is almost ready to embark upon its unique space mission.

[...]

Following an early morning departure by truck from ESA’s technical heart (ESTEC) on 11 February, Smile arrived at the Port of Amsterdam where it was loaded onto Maritime Nantaise’s Colibri cargo ship. The same ship transported the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.

Late that evening, the ship set sail on a two-week journey across the Atlantic Ocean towards Pariacabo harbour in Kourou, French Guiana. It was loaded with 12 containers with the spacecraft and accompanying equipment, as well as four members of the Smile team – two from Europe and two from China.

[...]

Two days into the journey, the ship made a quick pit-stop in Saint Nazaire, France, to pick up the upper stage of the Vega-C rocket that will carry Smile to space and drop it off into orbit around Earth. A fitting encounter for these two crucial pieces of hardware, to journey together across Earth as well as in space.

The ship is expected to make landfall before the end of February, where it will be taken to Europe’s Spaceport for final launch preparations. More team members from Europe and China will arrive to support this phase of unpacking, testing, fuelling and connecting the spacecraft to the Vega-C upper stage.

[...]
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2032028760757752070
View: https://twitter.com/esa_transport/status/2032028760757752070

This is what #VV29 will look like in space

Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between @esascience and @CAS__Science.

Europe's Vega-C rocket can launch 2300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft.

@Avio_Group @EuropeSpacePort @esa
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Launch officially scheduled for NET April 9th at 06:29 UTC:

T-20 days: Smile to launch on 9 April

The Smile mission is set to launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday 9 April at 08:29 CEST/07:29 BST/03:29 local time.

[...]

During the launch, the four stages of the Vega-C rocket will separate one by one, before finally releasing Smile after 57 minutes. Smile’s solar panels will unfold after 63 minutes – the milestone that confirms launch success.

The launch will drop Smile off into a low-Earth orbit. From there, the spacecraft will take over to bring itself to its final, egg-shaped orbit that goes 121 000 km above the North Pole to collect data, before coming 5000 km above the South Pole to deliver it to waiting ground stations.

Launch preparations are progressing well, with the spacecraft and all rocket parts having now arrived at Europe’s Spaceport. The four rocket stages are stacked, ready and waiting for Smile on the launch pad.

[...]
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Smile meets Vega-C

The Smile spacecraft (gold) was fixed to a Vega-C rocket adaptor (black cone) on 25 March 2026, in preparation for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 9 April.

The adaptor is called ‘Vampire’ (for Vega Adapter for Multiple Payload Injection and RElease). It acts a bit like a seatbelt, connecting the spacecraft securely to the rocket to avoid it getting thrown around during launch.
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Last glimpse of Smile

the Smile spacecraft was enclosed inside a Vega-C rocket fairing on 26 March 2026, in preparation for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 9 April.
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China-Europe SMILE Satellite Ready for Launch

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a satellite jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the European Space Agency (ESA), has completed all pre-launch preparations at the space launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, and is scheduled for launch on April 9 local time, according to the CAS on Thursday.

The SMILE satellite mission represents China's first mission-level, all-around in-depth cooperation with the ESA in the field of space science exploration.

The satellite will apply soft X-ray imaging technology to achieve, for the first time, a global view of the large-scale structure of Earth's magnetosphere. It is, notably, expected to yield a series of scientific breakthroughs in areas such as space weather forecasting and fundamental understanding of magnetospheric physics.

The SMILE satellite has been mounted on a Vega-C launch vehicle.

At present, the launch window has been determined, and the joint team is closely monitoring and verifying weather conditions at the launch site, as well as the final technical status of both the rocket and satellite. (Xinhua)

https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/cas-in-media/202603/t20260327_1153840.shtml
 
Smile’s journey from launch to orbit:

View: https://youtu.be/cLnV9Ae8aGY


FLIGHT VV29 LAUNCH POSTPONEMENT
5 April 2026

The launch of the Smile satellite has been postponed, due to a technical issue occurred on a subsystem component production line after VV29 launcher integration.

Additional investigations are needed to exclude any relation between such issue and the VV29 launcher in order to safeguard flightworthiness.

The new launch date will be announced following the completion of these activities, as agreed with the supplier.

Vega C and its passenger, the Smile satellite, are in stable and safe conditions.
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FLIGHT VV29: NEW LAUNCH DATE

Colleferro (Rome), 23 April 2026 – Following the completion of the investigations into the technical issue identified on a subsystem component production line after VV29 launcher integration, a new launch date has been set for 19 May 2026 at 00:52 local time (03:52 UTC, 05:52 CEST).

The activities were conducted in close coordination with all involved partners. Vega C and its passenger, the SMILE satellite, are in stable and safe conditions
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https://www.avio.com/press-release/flight-vv29-new-launch-date
Smile set to launch on 19 May
23/04/2026

The European-Chinese Smile mission is due to launch on Tuesday 19 May 2026, at 05:52 CEST / 04:52 BST / 00:52 local time on a European Vega-C rocket.

The initial launch date was postponed as a precautionary measure, after a technical issue was identified on the production line of a Vega-C subsystem component. Both Smile and the Vega-C that will take it to space remain stable and safe.

Following the completion of careful investigations into the issue, all partners have agreed on 19 May as the new launch date.

Smile is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It will reveal how Earth responds to the streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun, using an X-ray camera to make the first X-ray observations of Earth’s magnetic field, and an ultraviolet camera to watch the northern lights non-stop for 45 hours at a time.

Launch preparations are progressing well at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. In March, Smile was fuelled, integrated with the Vega-C rocket adapter, and enclosed inside the rocket fairing.

During the launch, the four stages of the Vega-C will separate one by one, before finally releasing Smile after 57 minutes. Smile’s solar panels will unfold after 63 minutes – the milestone that confirms launch success.

The launch will drop Smile off into a low-Earth orbit. From there, the spacecraft will take over to bring itself to its final, egg-shaped orbit that goes 121 000 km above the North Pole to collect data, before coming 5000 km above the South Pole to deliver it to waiting ground stations.
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https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile/Smile_set_to_launch_on_19_May
 
China Focus: SMILE in sky: a new chapter in China-Europe space science cooperation.

The China-Europe jointly developed Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) was launched into orbit on Tuesday, expected to usher in a new era in space weather forecasting and mark a deeper, more exemplary phase in China-Europe space science cooperation.
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Successful launch in landmark China-Europe joint satellite mission.

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a joint mission between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the European Space Agency(ESA), was successfully launched Tuesday aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
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ESA’s photosynthesis satellite fuelled

Europe’s newest eye on the health of Earth’s vegetation has taken another crucial step towards orbit – the European Space Agency’s FLEX satellite has been fuelled at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana ahead of its planned launch on 15 September at 03:21 CEST (14 September at 22:21 local time).
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