Space Is Getting Crowded—Now Surging Satellite Demand Prompts SEOPS ‘Waymaker’ Program to Add Second 2028 Mission

SEOPS Space has added a second Waymaker flight for 2028, demonstrating their ability to successfully guide LEO commercial space launch missions from planning to deployment on predictable schedules. The second mission, Waymaker-2, is planned for a 2028 launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, expanding commercial space launch opportunities. The company claims that the LEO commercial space launch market has entered a new phase, with companies seeking private launch options facing availability issues. The result of this commercial space launch 'backlog' is a competition for launch slots three to four years before the launch date. SEOPS President Evan Hoyt noted that the increased flexibility includes customers gaining access to rideshare missions "designed to better align with their schedule, technical requirements, and mission objectives." This demand led to the addition of Waymaker-2.

• Waymaker-1 is slated for early 2028, representing a variety of diverse payloads across the commercial, science/education, and defense/security sectors.
• Waymaker-2 is slated for the latter part of 2028, with a more formal schedule expected as slots rapidly fill up.
• The company claims that SEOPS is not simply building rideshare missions but is building the Access Layer for space, creating the commercial, technical, and operational ecosystem that connects spacecraft developers with the right path to orbit.

The addition of Waymaker-2 allows SEOPS to respond to the increased demand for launches while continuing to evaluate the right timing for future GTO offerings. Unlike LEO missions, GTO missions place satellites in a highly elliptical temporary orbit, then drift into a geosynchronous (GEO) orbit for long-term use. This new capability provides access to an entirely new customer base, including science and defense applications that require placement in the more challenging orbit. The company emphasizes that this isn't just another launch update but a signal that rideshare capacity is outpacing supply, prompting investment in Waymaker to advance launch capacity, infrastructure, and operational capabilities required to meet that demand at scale.

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