SpaceX and Startup Vast Hope to Put the World’s First Private Space Station in Orbit
Vast, a California-based startup, plans to use a SpaceX rocket to launch what it hopes to be the world’s first commercial space station and ferry passengers to and from the orbiting outpost. The cost of the agreement was not disclosed.
It remains unclear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors, which could include professional astronauts or tourists.
Jed McCaleb, the founder and CEO of Vast, is investing $300 million of his own money into the effort, and he does not plan to seek outside investment for Vast until the company has its proposed space station built and can generate revenue. Vast says it is aiming for a launch date as early as August 2025.
Developing a space station is a complex endeavor requiring extensive testing and key technology such as life support systems.
Vast will have an advantage because it can leverage the life support systems already developed for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which the company plans to use to carry passengers to its space station.
Vast’s simple, single-structure Haven-1 space station will be able to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Initially, the company plans for Haven-1 to operate independently, free-floating in Earth’s orbit. Later, the company plans to attach the spacecraft as a module to a larger space station.
Vast’s ultimate goal is to create a massive orbiting space station with artificial gravity that could be launched atop a SpaceX Starship vehicle, a rocket still in the development stages that exploded midair during its inaugural test flight in April.
