The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) — a joint ESA and Chinese Academy of Sciences mission—is set for launch in spring from Kourou aboard a Vega-C launcher. Airbusin Spain, the European industrial prime, built the satellite’s payload, integrating four sophisticated instruments: the Soft X-ray Imager and Ultra-Violet Imager for global visualization, alongside a Light Ion Analyser and Magnetometer to track particle energy. Airbus technology is transforming space weather from an unpredictable threat into a quantifiable science.
