VAST selected for the sixth private mission to the International Space Station
On February 12th, NASA revealed that VAST will be the sixth private ISS mission flying with SpaceX on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
Credit: SpaceX
Founded in 2021, VAST is a space company focused on building and controlling the first commercial space station, with the first module set to launch in early 2027. This first launch, Haven-1, will send a single module of the space station to orbit. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft routinely makes cargo resupply and crew rotation missions to the ISS and will now do missions to Haven. After Haven-1 comes Haven-2, a 4-module space station. One of the four modules will be the first Haven-1 module that will launch in 2027; following that will be three modules launching roughly 6 months apart starting in 2028.
Redner of Haven-1 docked with SpaceX’s Dragon
Towards the backend of 2025, VAST launched the Haven Demo on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 mission aboard the workhorse Falcon 9. This demonstration satellite is designed to test key technologies for the future Haven station modules. The Demo mission launched to a ~510 km circular orbit (not 100% circular) with a 45-degree inclination.
Live tracker here: https://www.vastspace.com/haven-demo (Scroll to the bottom of the page)
Haven Demo Spacecraft
NASA's decision to select VAST is key for demonstrating the crew capabilities and operations of VAST ahead of their space station launches and operations. The mission is set to launch in the summer of 2027 and last up to 14 days. The crew of 4 has yet to be announced, but once selection has taken place, NASA will conduct a review of the 4 astronauts ahead of official NASA and SpaceX training ahead of the mission. VAST will conduct some research on this mission as well.
More information will be released soon as the mission details and date get finalised.