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China's SMILE Satellite Project A Collaborative Space Science Endeavor with ESA

By:Maxwell

TapTechNews September 27th news, according to CCTV reports, since January 2023 until now, in the formal sample development stage of the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Interaction Panoramic Imaging Satellite (SMILE, referred to as the Smiling Satellite) of the Pilot Project for Space Science (Phase II) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, all development work such as domestic testing, system interface docking, and environmental tests have been completed.

According to the Sino-European joint work plan, the satellite platform and payload compartment are expected to be transported to the European Space Technology Center in October 2024 to carry out the integration and testing of the formal sample satellite together with the payload compartment developed by the European Space Agency.

TapTechNews note: The full name of SMILE is the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, aiming to obtain an accurate image of the solar-earth magnetosphere physics.

Chinas SMILE Satellite Project A Collaborative Space Science Endeavor with ESA_0

CCTV stated that the Smiling Satellite project is the first space science exploration task in which China conducts all-round in-depth cooperation at the task level with the European Space Agency (ESA), and it is also the finale of the Pilot Project for Space Science (Phase II) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The scientific goal of the Smiling Satellite project is to detect the large-scale structure and basic pattern of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction; to recognize the overall change process and periodic change of magnetospheric substorms; to explore the occurrence and development of geomagnetic storms driven by coronal mass ejection events. The overall project is jointly composed of the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the European Space Agency, the satellite overall is the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the satellite will be launched at the Kourou Launch Site in French Guiana using the Vega-C launch vehicle of Arianespace.

SMILE Satellite China ESA space science

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