Vast Space to launch world’s first commercial space station on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2025
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We have entered a brand new era of space exploration, from flying a chopper on Mars to re-directing an asteroid's trajectory to retrieving soil samples from a distant space rock.
The future of space is dynamic, with technological prowess allowing science fiction-inspired ideas to become reality. And next-generation space outposts are one such area that has piqued the interest of space startups. Especially since the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to be decommissioned by the end of this decade.
Start-up Vast Space, based in California, is a new entrant aiming to build a commercial space station in low-Earth orbit. In fact, the company wants to lead the race of deploying it as early as August 2025. If successful, "Haven-1" will become the world's first commercial space station in orbit, according to a press release.
Vast has teamed up with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for the launches.
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 commercial space station
The Haven-1 outpost is a small station that would eventually join the larger model currently being built. After the Haven-1 mission, the company plans to launch the Vast-1 mission, in which a four-person crew would stay in the newly built station for up to 30 days. The Vast-1 astronauts are expected to share a ride on the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The company hopes to sell four seats on Vast-1 for this purpose.
“Vast is thrilled to embark on this journey of launching the world's first commercial space station, Haven-1, and its first crew, Vast-1. We are grateful to SpaceX for this exciting partnership that represents the first steps in Vast’s long-term vision of launching much larger, artificial gravity space stations in Earth orbit and beyond,” said Jed McCaleb, CEO of Vast, in a statement.
Artificial-gravity outpost in the pipeline
If everything goes as planned, the company hopes to conduct the first spinning artificial gravity experiment. The ultimate goal is to build a "100-meter-long multi-module artificial-gravity outpost" in Earth orbit, which could be beneficial to astronauts’ health as well as space tourism. This idea is frequently seen in science-fiction shows such as "Star Trek." The station also aims to simulate the Moon's gravity by spinning.
The company, primarily focusing on space habitation technologies, would offer features such as a large window dome with a view of space, internet access via onboard Wi-Fi, and a dedicated room for exercise and rest at Haven-1. In addition, the space station would include “science, research, and in-space manufacturing opportunities - 1000 W of power, 24/7 communications, and up to 150 kg of pre-loaded cargo mass in Haven-1,” the company said.
For these missions, SpaceX has agreed to provide astronaut training, spacesuits, and other required services. The launch date may be delayed because the orbital habitat must meet human safety requirements, which is a challenging task and a long process.
Founded in 2021, the company is said to be well ahead of the other startups' targets for deploying commercial space stations. Among them is Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space station, Orbital Reef, likely to be launched by the second half of this decade.
According to reports, NASA has awarded a whopping $415 million to three private teams led by Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman to build at least one functioning space station in low Earth orbit by 2030.
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