The private space station, approximately 100 meters long, includes multiple modules and artificial gravity, and will operate in Earth’s orbit within the next two years.
Simulation of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft traveling to Haven-1. (Image: Vast Space LLC)
California-based startup Vast Space announced on May 10 its plan to launch the Haven-1 station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no later than August 2025. Following this, the Vast-1 mission will transport a crew to the new station for a 30-day stay. Vast-1 will also launch on a Falcon 9 rocket, with astronauts residing in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.
“Vast will launch the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, with its inaugural crew being Vast-1,” shared Jed McCaleb, the company’s CEO. “Collaborating with SpaceX is our first step towards a long-term goal of launching larger artificial gravity space stations in Earth’s orbit and beyond.”
Founded two years ago, Vast is a young company aiming to operate a 100-meter-long multi-module artificial gravity space station launched using SpaceX’s transportation system. Vast plans to conduct the world’s first artificial gravity experiments aboard Haven-1. The company is offering four slots for the Vast-1 mission. SpaceX will handle astronaut training, provide spacesuits, and offer various services, similar to what was done for the Ax-1 mission, a private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) carried out by Axiom Space in Houston in April 2022.
If everything goes according to plan, Haven-1 will be one of several private stations currently in development. For instance, Axiom Space plans to launch several modules to the ISS in the coming years. This assembly will later detach and become a free-flying station. In late 2021, NASA also allocated a total of $415 million to teams at Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman, hoping that at least one private station will be operational in low Earth orbit before the ISS is decommissioned at the end of 2030.
