Teledyne sensors ride aboard ESA’s SMILE space weather mission

By AI, Created 3:05 PM UTC, May 19, 2026, /AGP/ – Teledyne Space Imaging supplied two CCD370 sensors for the European Space Agency’s SMILE mission, which launched May 19, 2026, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The sensors will help scientists image Earth’s magnetosphere in X-rays and study how solar wind drives space weather.

Why it matters: - SMILE is designed to improve understanding of space weather and how the Sun interacts with Earth. - The mission could help scientists better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the processes that shape Earth’s space environment. - Space weather knowledge matters for protecting technology on Earth and astronauts in space.

What happened: - Teledyne Space Imaging supplied two CCD370 imaging sensors for the Soft X-ray Imager on the European Space Agency’s SMILE mission. - SMILE, short for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, launched at 04:52 BST from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. - The mission uses four science instruments to study how Earth responds to solar wind.

The details: - The Teledyne sensors sit at the heart of the mission’s Soft X-ray Imager. - The CCD370 devices will capture soft X-ray emissions created as solar wind particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field. - The sensors are designed to observe photons with energies from 0.2 to 2.0 keV. - That range will let scientists study the boundary region where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetosphere. - Teledyne Space Imaging completed the design, manufacturing, test and qualification of the CCD detectors at its Chelmsford, England facility.

Between the lines: - SMILE aims to give researchers a new view of the Sun-Earth connection by imaging Earth’s magnetosphere with X-ray light. - Teledyne’s role on SMILE extends its history of supplying hardware for international space missions. - The mission’s focus on boundary regions could help researchers link observations of solar wind activity to effects near Earth.

What’s next: - SMILE will begin using its four instruments to collect science data on space weather and Earth’s magnetosphere. - Scientists will analyze the X-ray images to refine understanding of how solar wind drives changes in near-Earth space. - Teledyne Space Imaging will continue supporting major space missions as demand grows for specialized space-qualified sensors.

The bottom line: - SMILE adds a new X-ray perspective to space weather research, with Teledyne’s sensors helping capture the data scientists need to study Earth’s magnetic shield.