CGI delivers critical payload software for ESA’s SMILE mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission aims to transform our understanding of how Earth protects itself from the Sun’s charged particles and radiation. 

Although the Earth is shielded from most of these dangerous particles by the earth’s powerful magnetic field, some penetrate through to the ionosphere causing space weather effects on Earth. These range from Aurora Borealis to more damaging impacts like geomagnetic storms that effect electrical equipment and communications networks. The mission will generate unprecedented data, providing new insight into these systems and supporting scientists in the development of more accurate and reliable space weather forecasting. ESA has delivered the instrument payloads through Airbus Defence and Space in Spain. The instrument payload is responsible for the core science data collection for the SMILE mission. 

CGI has been a critical partner in the delivery of this mission, producing the application software for the instrument payloads. This real-time embedded system controls all four of the platform’s instruments, managing the flow of science data, instrument health and enabling automated payload operations through the deployment of On-Board Macro Procedures.  

The UK has played a central role in SMILE, with UK researchers leading the soft X-ray imager (SXI) instrument (one of four scientific instruments aboard the spacecraft) and co-leading the overall mission science.   

We are proud to support British science, ensuring that UK designed and produced instruments integrate into the platform through highly assured application software for the instrument payloads. We will continue to support ESA and Airbus Defence and Space with the mission following launch, as the satellite is made operational and the payload instruments start to collect this valuable data.  

We have several decades of experience supporting ESA, UKSA and NASA missions working in collaboration with European Primes delivering high quality assured platform and instrument software.