SEOPS has announced that its inaugural Waymaker dedicated rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) was nearing capacity, with 90% of available payload mass already under contract just months after the program’s launch. To meet customer demand for dedicated rideshare opportunities to low Earth orbit (LEO), SEOPS has introduced a second Waymaker mission in early 2028. The new mission has repurposed the company’s previously announced Darkstar-1 mission to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and would fly to a mid-inclination LEO destination under the Waymaker program.
Both missions would launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2028. Together, the two missions would expand SEOPS’ dedicated rideshare offerings for spacecraft developers seeking predictable schedules, flexible integration and mission assurance outside of traditional shared rideshare opportunities.
“We’ve seen exceptionally strong demand for dedicated LEO rideshare capacity,” said Evan Hoyt, president of SEOPS. “Customers are looking for more opportunities to launch while maintaining the flexibility to support a wide range of spacecraft and mission profiles. Adding a second Waymaker mission allows us to respond to that demand today while continuing to evaluate the right timing for our future GTO offerings.”
The updated dedicated rideshare missions at-a-glance include:
- Waymaker-1: Mid-inclination orbit | Falcon 9 | Early 2028
- Waymaker-2: Sun-synchronous orbit | Falcon 9 | Late 2028
Demand for launch services has continued to increase as commercial, civil and national security satellite operators deployed larger constellations and shortened spacecraft development cycles. Unlike traditional rideshare models, SEOPS has procured launch capacity years in advance and managed every phase of the mission, from reservation and integration through deployment. The company’s hardware-agnostic approach has combined launch procurement, mission management, payload integration and deployment services into a single end-to-end solution that provides mission management, payload integration and deployment services.
