{"id":14873,"date":"2024-04-30T12:30:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T12:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1406187"},"modified":"2024-04-30T12:30:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T12:30:06","slug":"vega-c-rocket-to-launch-europe-and-chinas-first-entirely-joint-space-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14873","title":{"rendered":"Vega-C rocket to launch Europe and China\u2019s first entirely joint space mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/topic\/european-space-agency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Space Agency<\/a> (ESA) has secured a ride for its solar wind satellite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer \u2014 or Smile for short \u2014 will blast into <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/topic\/space\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">space<\/a> aboard a Vega-C rocket. The launch is scheduled for late 2025 from Europe\u2019s spaceport in French Guiana.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe are delighted to be launching Smile on such a versatile launch vehicle,\u201d said David Agnolon, project manager of Smile. \u201cVega-C has been selected as it perfectly matches the needs of the mission, such as required mass capability and injection orbit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1406190 size-full js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1.jpg\" alt=\"Vega-C lifts off for the first time\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2320\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1.jpg 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-148x210.jpg 148w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-95x135.jpg 95w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-191x270.jpg 191w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-796x1126.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1592x2252.jpg 1592w\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/vega-rocket-europe-china-smile-solar-wind-space-mission#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fspace%2F2024%2F04%2F30%2Fvega-rocket-europe-china-smile-solar-wind-space-mission%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Vega-C \u2014 a small-life rocket developed by the ESA and Italian Space Agency \u2014 took off for the first time in July 2022. Credit: ESA\" data-title=\"Share Vega-C \u2014 a small-life rocket developed by the ESA and Italian Space Agency \u2014 took off for the first time in July 2022. Credit: ESA on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Vega-C \u2014 a small-life rocket developed by the ESA and Italian Space Agency \u2014 took off for the first time in July 2022. Credit: ESA on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"><\/i><\/a>Vega-C \u2014 a small-life rocket developed by the ESA and Italian Space Agency \u2014 took off for the first time in July 2022. Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1406190 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1.jpg\" alt=\"Vega-C lifts off for the first time\" width=\"1640\" height=\"2320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1.jpg 1640w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-148x210.jpg 148w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-95x135.jpg 95w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-191x270.jpg 191w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-796x1126.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/Vega-C_liftoff-1-1592x2252.jpg 1592w\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><span>Vega-C will position Smile in a low-Earth orbit, after which the spacecraft will propel itself into <\/span><span>an oval-shaped orbit <\/span><span>121,000 kilometres<\/span><span> above <\/span><span>our home planet. From this vantage point, <\/span><span>scientists will be able to observe the northern polar regions for more than 40 hours at a time.<\/span><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\" readability=\"8.5\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"><\/div>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"><\/noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\" readability=\"12\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The &lt;3 of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Smile will take the world\u2019s first X-ray images and videos of solar wind slamming into Earth\u2019s magnetic field. Using an ultraviolet camera, Smile will also give us the longest-ever continuous look at the northern lights.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Joint space mission<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>The Earth\u2019s magnetic field acts as a giant shield against harmful solar rays. Without it, humanity would be exposed to potentially life-threatening radiation and cosmic rays. Power grids and satellites would malfunction.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Smile was developed by ESA a<\/span><span>nd the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to deepen our understanding of these phenomena.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The partners designed and built the probe, and will operate it together. It marks Europe and China\u2019s first entirely joint space mission.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSeveral technical and programmatic difficulties have been jointly overcome by ESA and CAS teams through efficient and respectful collaboration,\u201d says Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Safa, head of ESA\u2019s Future Missions Department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The European and Chinese sections of the spacecraft are expected to arrive at ESA\u2019s technical centre at <\/span><span>Noordwijk<\/span><span>, the Netherlands, later this year. Here, the two sections will be joined together. After which the spacecraft will be tested for the first time.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Developed by ESA and the Italian Space Agency, Vega-C is Europe\u2019s next-gen rocket for delivering small payloads to space. First launched in July 2022, it has been grounded since March 2023, following a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/vega-c-failure-rocket-nozzle-flaw-investigation-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span>launch failure<\/span><\/a><span>. It is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Newsroom\/Press_Releases\/Vega-C_Zefiro40_Test_Independent_Enquiry_Commission_announces_conclusions#:~:text=Vega%2DC%2C%20undergoing%20design%20changes,the%20second%20quarter%20of%202024.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span>expected<\/span><\/a><span> to take off again later this year \u2014 if all goes to plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/vega-rocket-europe-china-smile-solar-wind-space-mission\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Space Agency (ESA) has secured a ride for its solar wind satellite. The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer \u2014 or Smile for short \u2014 will blast into space aboard&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}