Startup Vast and SpaceX to Launch the First Commercial Space Station
The mission is actually available for booking: the company invites not only professional astronauts and space agencies but also private individuals who do either scientific or philanthropic work to join the flight.
American startup Vast plans to launch the world's first commercial space station, Haven-1, which will be delivered to orbit on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
As part of the Vast-1 mission, a four-member crew will travel to the station on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft that will dock with Haven-1 for a stay of up to 30 days.
Announcing the Haven-1 and Vast-1 missions to low-Earth orbit. Launched by @SpaceX, Haven-1 is scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station and will be visited by a crew of four aboard a Dragon spacecraft during Vast-1 → https://t.co/ToxFSiyQJj pic.twitter.com/YSPrM9Krtr
— VΛST (@vast) May 10, 2023
The launch is planned for no earlier than August 2025. If the Vast-1 mission is successful, the startup will launch another mission, Vast-2, but not earlier than 2026.
At first, Haven-1 is intended to operate on its own, but Vast hopes to later make it just one module in a larger Vast station.
The mission is actually available for booking: the company invites not only professional astronauts and space agencies but also private individuals who do either scientific or philanthropic work to join the flight. The station also provides power, 24-hour connectivity via onboard Wi-Fi, and "consumables" throughout the stay.