Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies founded in 2021, has announced ambitious plans to launch the world’s first commercial space station called Haven-1 as soon as August 2025. The company, headquartered in Long Beach, California, aims to expand humanity across the solar system with a long-term vision of enabling billions of people to live and work in space. Vast has partnered with SpaceX to launch Haven-1 on a Falcon 9 rocket, followed shortly after by a crewed mission called Vast-1 on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Haven-1: The World’s First Commercial Space Station

Haven-1 will initially act as an independent crewed space station in low Earth orbit before being connected as a module to a larger Vast space station currently in development. The 14-ton module is 10.1 meters long, 3.8 meters in diameter, and sized to fit inside a standard Falcon 9 payload fairing. It will provide 70 cubic meters of pressurized volume, 15 kilowatts of power, a docking port at one end, and a large window at the other.

The station will be launched with the payloads and consumables needed by the visiting crew. Vast has focused on simplicity in Haven-1’s design to enable quick and safe development, including leveraging the Dragon spacecraft’s life support systems while docked. Although Vast has not yet built flight hardware, they are working on structure prototypes at their Long Beach headquarters which includes an 11,100-square-meter manufacturing facility.

Haven-1 will provide commercial and government customers with payload opportunities for science, research, and in-space manufacturing. The station will house a microgravity research facility called the Haven-1 Lab, with 10 slots each capable of accommodating payloads up to 30 kg and consuming up to 100 watts. The first companies to place payloads on Haven-1 will be Redwire and Yuri Gravity.

Vast-1: The First Crewed Mission to Haven-1

Shortly after Haven-1 reaches orbit, Vast plans to launch a crewed mission called Vast-1 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The vehicle and its four-person crew will dock with Haven-1 for up to 30 days while orbiting Earth. SpaceX will provide astronaut training, spacesuits and other services for the mission.

Vast is selling up to four seats on the inaugural Vast-1 mission to Haven-1, though ticket prices have not been disclosed. Expected customers include domestic and international space agencies as well as private individuals involved in science and philanthropic projects.

With the addition of the Dragon spacecraft, Haven-1 will be able to sustain 4-crew missions for up to 30 days each, with amenities like 24/7 communications, 1,000 watts of power, 150 kg of preloaded cargo, a viewing window dome, Wi-Fi internet, and crew quarters. The station is designed for up to four Dragon missions total.

Vast’s Long-Term Vision

Artificial Gravity Space Stations

Vast’s long-term goal is to develop a 100-meter-long multi-module spinning artificial gravity space station launched by SpaceX’s Starship transportation system in the 2030s. Artificial gravity is key to Vast’s vision of enabling long-term human habitation in space.

The centrifugal force generated by a large spinning structure can mimic Earth’s gravity and reduce the detrimental physiological effects astronauts experience from extended stays in microgravity. In support of this goal, Vast will explore conducting the world’s first spinning artificial gravity experiment on a commercial space station with Haven-1.

Vast’s roadmap includes a “spinning stick” station 100 meters long made of 7-meter diameter modules launched on Starship, capable of hosting 40 people. By the 2040s, Vast aims to operate a “proliferated station fleet” of artificial gravity and microgravity stations optimized for human physiology, psychology, and off-planet business.

Expanding Across the Solar System

Vast’s mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space, with humanity’s population and resources expanding far beyond current limits. The company believes the solar system contains enough material and energy resources to support quadrillions of humans.

There are an estimated 464 Earth masses of material in the solar system excluding the Sun, with humans currently using at most 2% of Earth’s mass. This equates to roughly enough resources for 232 trillion humans. The Sun also emits vastly more energy than current human needs. Vast sees the solar system as mass-constrained rather than energy-constrained for expansion.

Funding and Customers

Vast was exclusively funded at founding by Jed McCaleb and expects this to carry the company through the Haven-1 and Vast-1 missions.

The company plans to be profitable long-term by serving customers including NASA and other US government agencies, international space agencies, research institutions, and private individuals and companies. Vast sees NASA as its biggest potential customer and competing for future Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) contracts as a priority.

Vast’s Advantage and Competition

Vast believes the simplicity of its free-flying Haven-1 station design will enable it to beat competitors developing more complex modules for the ISS, like Axiom Space‘s planned station. Having an operational Haven-1 would give Vast an advantage in future NASA CLD contract bids versus competitors yet to fly hardware.

However, Vast faces competition from the three teams that won initial NASA CLD funding in 2021 led by Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Voyager Space. Those companies are working to develop stations to succeed the ISS when it retires around 2030.

Vast’s Leadership and Acquisitions

Vast was founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb and “officially” launched in September 2022. In February 2023, Vast acquired space startup Launcher, with its founder Max Haot becoming President of Vast. This added Launcher’s assets, products like the E-2 engine and Orbiter tug, and employees to Vast.

In January 2023, Vast announced plans to relocate to a newly built 115,000 sq ft headquarters in Long Beach to house its offices and manufacturing. The company also operates a 25,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Hawthorne and a test facility at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

Discussion

Vast has laid out a bold vision to expand human presence in space and across the solar system through the development of artificial gravity space stations. With plans to launch the first commercial station module in 2025, a crewed mission shortly after, and a long-term roadmap for ever larger stations, Vast aims to make its ambitious goals a reality.

The company’s strategy of starting simple with Haven-1, beating competitors to orbit, and scaling up with Starship-launched stations and beyond could position it as a leader in commercial LEO destinations and human expansion into the solar system. However, Vast will face technical, funding, and competitive challenges in achieving its far-reaching aims.

Vast’s plans represent a major step in the commercialization and privatization of low Earth orbit as NASA and other agencies look to transition from the ISS to privately developed and operated stations. The success of Vast and its competitors will be key to realizing the potential of space to support large-scale human habitation, scientific research, manufacturing, and business in the coming decades.

As Vast CEO Jed McCaleb stated, the company is taking the first steps in its “long-term vision of launching much larger, artificial gravity space stations in Earth orbit and beyond.” If realized, this vision could open a new era of human civilization in space, enabling millions or even billions of people to live and work off-planet. The coming years will be critical in determining if Vast can turn this expansive vision into reality.