BREMEN, Germany — Smallsat launch integrator SEOPS has purchased a Falcon 9 launch for a dedicated rideshare mission to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
SEOPS announced at Space Tech Expo Europe here Nov. 19 that it signed a contract with SpaceX for the mission, planned for late 2028 from Florida. It is also acquiring capacity on unspecified other SpaceX launches through 2028.
“With the surge demand for access to cislunar space, we’re approaching a pivotal moment where prolific access to GTO is a must,” Chad Brinkley, CEO of SEOPS, said in a statement, describing the contract as a way to “proactively generate the options the market demands” for rideshare missions.
Brinkley said at the conference that the company does not have any firm customers yet for that mission. However, the strong interest SEOPS has seen from commercial and government customers was enough to warrant signing a contract.
The mission will fly a stack of payloads into GTO, he said. Customers can elect to incorporate orbital transfer vehicles with their payloads to transport them to their final orbits or use their payloads’ own propulsion to maneuver after deployment.
The announcement comes days after Impulse Space announced it was buying three Falcon 9 launches for its Helios transfer vehicle, which is designed to rapid transfers of payloads from low Earth orbit to geostationary or other orbits. The first of those launches will be used for the inaugural flight of Helios on a tactically responsive space mission for the Space Force. The other two missions do not have announced payloads yet.
Separately, Exotrail announced it at Space Tech Expo Europe Nov. 19 that it will fly its spacevan transfer vehicle on a mission to geostationary orbit as a secondary payload on an Ariane 6. That launch scheduled for the second half of 2026.
SEOPS also announced Nov. 19 a partnership with Axient Systems to create what they called a “one-stop-shop” for European payloads. Axient will provide primary mission systems engineering services while SEOPS will provide launch capacity, deployment hardware and related services. That partnership will start with PAMI-1, a mission Axient is developing for the Netherlands Ministry of Defense to demonstrate laser communications and sensor technology.
“Leveraging years of success executing complex missions for the U.S. government, we’re excited to bring our capabilities and track record to a wider audience and open up a new frontier in Europe,” Brinkley said in a statement.
