China: Chinese, European teams carry out in-orbit testing on SMILE satellite.

Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are carrying out in-orbit testing on their jointly developed satellite known as the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE). SMILE was launched into orbit from the Kourou launch center in French Guiana on May 19, and is expected to usher in a new era in space weather forecasting and in China-Europe space science cooperation. The satellite has accurately entered its designated orbit for scientific observation, and will undergo months of in-orbit testing before beginning a three-year scientific observation mission. The SMILE mission is the first in-depth, collaborative space science exploration project between the CAS and the ESA, and hopes to reveal the mysteries of the interaction between solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere. Of the four payloads, one is being operated by the European side and three by the Chinese side. Together, they will capture a comprehensive set of geospace parameters. The satellite has a highly sensitive magnetometer designed to measure solar wind's and the Earth's magnetic fields. The core scientific objective of the SMILE mission is to achieve, for the first time, global imaging observations of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions, presenting the complete chain of how solar wind energy enters, propagates through, and dissipates within Earth's space, according to Wang. To realize this goal, the satellite employs a groundbreaking design: it carries the world's first spaceborne soft X-ray imager (SXI), which can transform the previously "invisible" magnetospheric boundary into images. The satellite also carries an ultraviolet auroral imager (UVI), a light ion analyzer (LIA), and a magnetometer (MAG). This observation system enables simultaneous global-scale imaging to track magnetospheric evolution while also measuring in situ solar wind physical parameters, providing unprecedented observational capabilities for studying space weather processes such as magnetic storms and substorms. Shotlist: Beijing, China - June 29-30, 2026: FILE: Beijing, China - 2026 1. Various of animations showing operation of Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE); Beijing, China - June 29-30, 2026 2. Various of experts from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), European Space Agency (ESA) at mission control carrying out in-orbit testing on SMILE; 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Chi, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chinese principal investigator, SMILE satellite (ending with shot 4): "SMILE carries four science payloads -- two for imaging and two for in-situ measurements. Over the next three months, we need to ensure all instruments are functioning correctly, and that their parameters are fine-tuned to optimal settings."; 4. Various of SMILE model, experts working; FILE: Beijing, China - 2026 5. Animation showing SMILE operation; Beijing, China - June 29-30, 2026 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Escoubet, Project Scientist for SMILE mission, European Space Agency (starting with shot 5/ending with shot 7): "This is very important, because you see what's happening in real time. If we would be in Europe, it would be remotely, with no discussions. The important thing is to discuss, because sometimes you have problems that you need to solve. And the best thing is to have the teams together, that can discuss and exchange. And we exchange between Chinese engineers and European engineers to solve problems that may occur."; 7. Various of Escoubet talking to reporter, experts working; 8. Wang talking to reporter; 9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Chi, academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chinese principal investigator, SMILE satellite (starting with shot 8/ending with shot 10): "The satellite itself carries electrical currents that generate interfering magnetic fields. If the sensor is placed too close to the spacecraft, we can't tell whether the readings come from the satellite or from the Earth's actual magnetic field. That's why we use a boom to extend it far out away from the spacecraft body."; 10. Wang explaining mission; FILE: Beijing, China - 2026 11. Animations showing SMILE operations; Beijing, China - June 29-30, 2026 12. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Escoubet, Project Scientist for SMILE mission, European Space Agency (starting with shot 11/ending with shot 13): "We want to know how the sun influences the Earth. Sometimes there are big eruptions on the sun that sends these big clouds of plasma towards the Earth. And this can have a problem on our daily life. For instance, GPS can be not accurate, space weather event, big event, can also affect power. So with SMILE and other missions, we want to predict this kind of event and warn people, and monitor our electricity lines and everything that this doesn't happen again."; FILE: Beijing, China - 2026 13. Various of animations showing SMILE operatio