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3D PLUS has more than 220,000 microelectronics components in space, and more than 25 years of flight heritage with no reported failure. Our Flight Heritage is expanding continuously with products launched in Space every month in LEO, MEO and GEO orbits, for deep space exploration missions, for satellite constellation fleets, and for governmental missions in Europe, America, and Asia. Our Flagship missions include Mars 2020, Mars Science Laboratory, Rosetta, New Horizons, Juno, OneWeb, AlphaSat, Sentinel, Ariane 5, ISS, Parker Solar Probe, Insight, and many more.
The SMILE mission lifted off on May 19, 2026, aboard a European Vega-C rocket from Kourou. This scientific project associates the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This initiative materializes an unprecedented collaboration, as both agencies manage all stages together, from design to data exploitation.
The SMILE space mission seeks to understand the tumultuous relationship between the Sun and Earth. To do this, the satellite observes the impact of solar winds on the magnetic shield that protects our planet. Its instruments capture these interactions, invisible to the naked eye, through X-ray and ultraviolet images. This spectacle also manifests in a visible way through the magnificent auroras near the poles. The main objective remains to predict solar storms, giant explosions on the Sun’s surface that eject immense waves of energy particles into space. These phenomena can severely disrupt our power grids and our satellites in orbit. In summary, this mission will help us better anticipate space weather to secure our modern technologies.
To succeed in its mission, the satellite relies on four complementary instruments designed by European, Chinese, and Canadian laboratories. The SXI and UVI telescopes act as the eyes for the mission: they photograph the boundary of our magnetic shield in X-rays and capture polar auroras in ultraviolet. In parallel, the LIA and MAG sensors act on-site as measurement tools to calculate the speed of particles emitted by the Sun and map the Earth’s magnetic field lines.
Artist’s impression of the SMILE satellite in orbit, highlighting its onboard instruments. This joint mission between ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will study the impact of solar wind on Earth’s magnetosphere.
3D PLUS provides the onboard electronic components on the Vega-C launcher and on the SMILE satellite to store data, manage power, and protect systems. Here is the role of our products on this mission:
SXI DPU Flight UnitSXI instrument data processing board, showing the integrated 3D PLUS modules. Sembay, S., Cheney, A., Hampson, R. et al. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) on the SMILE Mission. Space Sci Rev 221, 113 (2025).
After three months of tests and initial collection, the satellite will transmit its first images from space. The mission will then continue for three years to harvest continuous data. Ultimately, all of these measurements will provide scientists with a solid observation base to better understand space weather.
