Mission

Wayfinder

Mission Name

Wayfinder

Carrier Name

ION SCV Astounding Alexandra

Launch Date

March 2026

Launch Site

Vandenberg

Launcher

SpaceX

Rocket

Falcon 9

Mission Status

Ongoing

Passengers

6

Satellites Onboard

4

Hosted Payloads

2

Wayfinder, March 2026
Wayfinder Mission Booklet

Mission Updates

1.

UPDATE 1

March 30th, 2026

Launch

D-Orbit successfully launched Wayfinder, the 22nd commercial mission of the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), on board SpaceX’s Transporter-16 mission. The Falcon 9, carrying ION SCV Astounding Alexandra, lifted off at 4:02:00 a.m. PT (11:02:00 a.m. UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and deployed the OTV into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of roughly 510 km.

Throughout its mission, ION will deploy four satellites and execute two hosted-payload demonstrations in orbit. D-Orbit's mission operations team is currently completing post-launch procedures in preparation for the start of the commercial phase of the mission.
Image: Photo Credit: SpaceXPhoto Credit: SpaceX

Roadmap

PHASE 1 - COMMISSIONING

As soon as ION SCV Astounding Alexandra reaches orbit, our spacecraft operations engineers will establish a bidirectional communication channel and start the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), neutralizing the rotation imparted by the launch vehicle during separation, correcting the attitude, testing the satellites' subsystems, and preparing for the next phases.

PHASE 2 - COMMERCIAL PHASE, HOSTED PAYLOAD DEMONSTRATION

Once concluded the commissioning phase, ION SCV Astounding Alexandra will start the commercial phase of the mission, which will consist in the deployment of the hosted satellites and the in-orbit demonstration of the third-party payloads hosted onboard. For this mission, ION will deploy four satellites and perform two in-orbit demonstrations of hosted payloads.

PHASE 3 - DECOMMISSIONING

At the end of the mission, the platform will join the fleet of IONs already in orbit and operated by the company. At the end of its life, the spacecraft will be decommissioned in compliance with the Space Debris Mitigation guidelines. The pressure vessels will be depleted from leftover fuel and oxidizer, the battery charging system will be deactivated, and the batteries will be completely discharged. The spacecraft, now inert, will enter a decommissioning trajectory that will bring it to burn up upon atmospheric re-entry within a few years.

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