China-Europe Joint Space Mission Completes Satellite Rocket Test

The Chinese satellite team finished the final assembly, integration, and preparation work at ESTEC before shipping the three satellite modules to ESA in December 2022.

China-Europe Joint Space Mission Completes Satellite Rocket Test

Under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), a satellite-rocket test for the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a joint space mission between China and Europe, was successful  according to the National Space Science Center (NSSC).

Soft X-ray imaging will be used as part of the SMILE space mission, a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the European Space Agency.

According to the NSSC, a Chinese satellite team from the SMILE mission recently visited the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency (ESA) to carry out a prototype joint test of a satellite and rocket, which included interface docking, satellite separation, and impact tests.

The Chinese satellite team finished the final assembly, integration, and preparation work at ESTEC before shipping the three satellite modules to ESA in December 2022. It was the two teams’ first in-person interaction since the SMILE mission-level prototype design review in January 2020.

By observing the dynamic interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere, the SMILE mission is a cooperative science mission between CAS and ESA that aims to increase our understanding of the Sun-Earth connection.

Along with CAS and ESA, businesses like Arianespace and Airbus also took part in the test. For testing with its European counterparts, the SMILE mission team will travel to Germany in May and September and Spain in April. In 2025, the mission satellite is expected to launch into orbit.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences is the cornerstone of China’s effort to explore and utilise modern technology and the natural sciences for the good of China and the rest of the world. CAS brings together scientists and engineers from China and around the world to address theoretical and applied problems using top-notch scientific and management approaches.

It consists of a comprehensive research and development network, a merit-based academic society, and a system of higher education.