Launch

Name: Launch Vega-C / Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
Start: 2026-04-08T00:00:00-03:00
End: 2026-04-08T23:59:59-03:00
Location: Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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Launch

Events for April 8, 2026

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Launch Falcon 9 / Cygnus CRS-2 NG-24

Apr 8

SLC-40 (~28°N), Cape Canaveral SFS FL, USA

Set for 08:51 EDT (02:51 HST), 24th flight of Orbital ATK uncrewed supply craft and 23rd to ISS under Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA; booster will attempt return to new Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40).

Launch Vega-C / Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)

Apr 8

Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Set for 03:29 French Guiana Time UTC-3 | 20:29 HST Apr 8 to send astrophysics satellite to elliptical orbit. Joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to investigate the interaction between Earth’s protective shield – the magnetosphere – and the supersonic solar wind.

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Established in 1976, Space Age Publishing Company operates its Hawaiʻi (1988) and California offices. Space Age publishes Space Calendar weekly since 1983 and Lunar Enterprise Daily, and pursues a business plan consistent with establishing a third office on the Moon.

Land Your Name + Message
on the Moon!

For a limited time you can send your name & message to the lunar surface on the ILOA ILO-1 mission in 2027-2028.

ILO-1 will be mounted on the Astrolab FLEX rover lightbar, and operate on the Moon for 1+ years — broadcasting Space Calendar and messages back to Earth along with near real-time images of the celestial sky and the Moon, on a weekly basis.

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