Waystar Royco Lodestar Capsule Maiden Flight

NYT April 29, 2025: Waystar Royco enters the space tourism industry with the maiden flight of its 3-seat Lodestar capsule, seen in this official concept art. The new company, Starway, is auctioning seats for future launches to the edge of space.

Waystar CEO Tom Wambsgans declined a place on the maiden mission, offering his seat to corporate assistant Gregory Hirsch.

According to Starway, the flight proceeded nominally, aside from an unexpected tracking flaw that left the capsule miles downrange and minor oscillations of the capsule upon reentry.