With NASA planning to retire the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030, Vast is working quickly to launch the first commercial space station, aiming for it to eventually replace the ISS. The company has recently reached a significant milestone in building its initial space station.
Vast, a space station company founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, launched its pathfinder spacecraft, Haven Demo, on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 1:09 AM EDT (05:09 UTC). The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Bandwagon-4 mission.
The Haven Demo mission was successful after deploying from SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 flight on November 2, 2025. After separating normally and stabilizing its orientation toward the sun, the spacecraft captured 4K video of its solar array deployment and is currently power-positive.
Vast’s first full space station, Haven-1, is scheduled to launch no earlier than May 2026, also on a Falcon 9 rocket. Haven-1 is not just any payload; it is designed to help Vast compete for NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 2 (CLD) funding. Other companies competing for this funding include Axiom Space with its Axiom Station and Voyager Space partnered with Airbus for Starlab.
Max Haot, Vast’s CEO, stated on X that the company is advancing rapidly, building Haven-1 as the world’s first commercial space station. He described it as a stepping stone to develop a larger, more capable multi-module station. The goal is to prove Vast’s technology, team, and facilities in space with a crew onboard.
The Haven Demo spacecraft is testing key systems such as Reaction Control Systems (RCS), power systems, and propulsion in preparation for Haven-1. The satellite weighs 515 kilograms and is expected to operate for six months in orbit. With its solar array now deployed, the pathfinder will begin collecting important data for the station.
As of October 29, the primary structure of Haven-1, including its hatch and domed window, has completed pressure and load acceptance testing at Vast’s facility in Mojave, California. The next steps include final weld inspections and integration in the company’s clean room.
The Flight Qualification Article has also finished testing at the facility Vast acquired from Virgin Orbit in 2023. This testing included structural load dynamic tests as well as pressure and leak qualification. The Flight Qualification Article is essential to demonstrate that the station can endure the conditions necessary to remain in orbit for three years.
Max Haot described Haven-1 as a “minimum viable product.” It features one docking port and depends on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for critical life support systems. This design will allow Vast to test the capabilities needed for larger stations in the future.
Because the Crew Dragon requires daily replacement of its CO2 scrubber, Haven-1 will launch with enough scrubbers to support four astronauts for 30 to 40 days on station.
Haven-1 offers 45 cubic meters of habitable space. Vast aims to make it feel more like a luxury hotel than a traditional space station. The module is 10.1 meters long and 4.4 meters in diameter. It includes crew quarters with Zero-G-optimized beds designed for comfort and stability. The station also features a 1.1-meter domed window, a deployable communal table, and continuous communication via SpaceX’s Starlink network.
In 2023, Vast hired veteran NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel as a spaceflight advisor. He now serves as the company’s Lead Astronaut. Feustel, a former NASA Chief Astronaut, helps Vast design the station to be as comfortable and productive as possible for future crews.
Haven Lab, Vast’s microgravity laboratory, will be part of the Haven-1 module. This research and manufacturing platform offers ten Middeck Locker Equivalent (MLE) payload slots. These standardized containers, also used on the ISS, allow for easy transfer of experiments between vehicles. Each slot provides 100 watts of continuous power. Five companies, including Redwire, Yuri, and Exobiosphere, have partnered with Vast to use Haven Lab.
Once in orbit, Haven-1 is expected to host up to four Vast crew missions over its three-year lifespan. Each mission will last about 10 days. The first mission, Vast-1, is planned to launch no earlier than June 2026. Vast will select the astronauts, who will be trained by SpaceX at its facilities.
Vast plans to apply the lessons learned from Haven-1 to develop its next station, Haven-2. This future station will consist of multiple modules and support up to 12 crew members for extended stays. The completed station will have nine modules, with the central module launched aboard a SpaceX Starship vehicle.
Due to its size and mass, Starship will be the only vehicle capable of launching the central module to orbit. The other modules will be launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Vast aims to have the first module of Haven-2 in orbit by 2028 and to complete the station by 2032.
A single module of Haven-2 will be 12 meters long with a 4.4-meter diameter. It will feature panoramic windows up to two meters wide. Unlike Haven-1, the fully assembled Haven-2 will not require visiting vehicles to support it. The station will offer at least 500 cubic meters of habitable space, surpassing the ISS’s current 388 cubic meters. The central module will include a 3.8-meter domed cupola window.
Vast hopes to secure NASA’s CLD Phase 2 funding, which totals $1.5 billion across multiple awards. However, other companies are also competing for this funding. Axiom Space plans to launch the first module of its Axiom Station to the ISS no earlier than 2026. This module will dock with the ISS and wait for a second module before forming a self-sustaining station.
Another competitor is Blue Origin and Sierra Space’s Orbital Reef, a multi-module station designed to support at least 10 crew members. Orbital Reef is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027 aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
Starlab, a joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus, plans to launch atop a Starship vehicle no earlier than 2028. Northrop Grumman will provide the cargo resupply vehicle, a variant of its Cygnus spacecraft, which currently services the ISS.
With the NASA CLD Phase 2 contract announcement expected in 2026, Vast aims to demonstrate its ability to sustain a space station in Low Earth Orbit by launching its commercial space station next year, ahead of its competitors.