CVA

On May 27, at the prestigious Grand Curtius Museum in Liège, a significant milestone was celebrated: the 65th anniversary of the partnership between the 12th Line Regiment Prince Léopold, 13th Line Regiment and the City of Liège, one of our member cities.

To mark the occasion, a rich programme was organised, bringing together history, community, and space.

At the heart of the ceremony, Alain Conde-Reis, representative of the European Space Agency, delivered a presentation that captivated the audience. He covered ESA's missions, the strategic importance of Europe's independent access to space, the challenges of space transportation, and the growing role of space in defence.

This is what CVA is about: being present where space meets society, history, and the people who shape our cities.

Thank you to ESA and to the City of Liège for making this moment possible. 🛰

📷 Photo credit: City of Liège

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Did you know? 🛰

Vega-C can deliver payloads to three different orbits on the same mission.
Its AVUM+ upper stage is equipped with a liquid engine capable of up to 7 re-ignitions, allowing it to place satellites exactly where they need to be, then safely deorbit itself at the end.

Vega-C liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 00:52 local time (04:52 BST/05:52 CEST) on 19 May 2026. Vega-C carried the Smile mission to space on flight VV29.

From liftoff to satellite separation, the full story of VV29 slide by slide.

Vega-C didn't just place Smile into orbit.
It did it with three separate engine ignitions, a controlled deorbit, and a total mission time of just under two hours.

The teams behind this? Engineers, systems analysts, mission specialists, spread across Europe, many of them in CVA member cities.

Around midnight on May 18, 2026, the mobile hangar at Europe's Spaceport slowly rolled away, revealing Vega-C standing alone under the floodlights, ready for flight VV29.

This is the moment before the moment. Four hours before liftoff, the launcher is exposed to the night sky for the first time. Every stage stacked with precision. The fairing sealed around Smile, protecting the spacecraft for its journey through Earth's atmosphere.

Built stage by stage. Unveiled in the dark. Launched into history.
Behind every liftoff, there are thousands of hours of work from engineers, technicians, and specialists spread across Europe, including in CVA member cities.

Europe launched into the night. 🌌

On May 19, 2026, Vega-C lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 00:52 local time, carrying the Smile mission into orbit.

Smile stands for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer.
A joint ESA and Chinese Academy of Sciences mission designed to study the invisible forces that shape our planet's magnetic environment.

One launcher. One image. One more step in understanding the universe we live in.

This is what independent European access to space looks like, and CVA's member cities are part of the ecosystem that makes it possible.

The part of the Ariane 6 nobody talks about, but that made VA268 possible.
The APU is a 3D-printed, multi-ignition propulsion system tucked into the upper stage. It's compact, precise, and does a job nothing else can.
Space isn't just about the big flames at liftoff. It's about the thousand small solutions that make it all work.
Follow for more from inside the European space industry 🚀

Behind every launch, there's an ecosystem.
VA268 brought together some of the most powerful names in space and proved that Europe can deliver, on time, at scale, for the world's biggest tech players.
This is the industry you want to be part of. And it's more open than it looks.
Save this post. Then follow us for what comes next. 🛰

Did you know? 🛰

The Ariane 6 that lifted off on April 30 carries a 20-meter fairing, taller than a 6-story building, just to protect the satellites during ascent through the atmosphere.
Once it's no longer needed? It separates at 130 km altitude and burns up on re-entry.