SpaceX and Vast Announce Commercial Space Station Plan

SpaceX and Vast Space LLC (Vast) have announced their plans to launch a commercial space station, called Haven-1, by 2025.

According to Vast, Haven-1 will be a 10.1-meters-long cylindrical module with a diameter of 3.8 meters and a mass of 14,000 kg. It will be compatible with the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which may carry up to four astronauts to and from the station. Haven-1 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to a low-Earth orbit of about 500 kilometers.

Vast says the station launch will be followed by Vast-1, a first crew visit to Haven-1 by a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The four-person crew will dock with Haven-1 for up to 30 days. Vast has also secured an option with SpaceX for an additional human spaceflight mission to Haven-1.

If all goes to plan, Haven-1 will initially act as an standalone intermittently-crewed space station before being connected as a module to a larger Vast space station currently in development. The company says their long-term goal is to develop a 100-meter-long multi-module space station launched by SpaceX's Starship transportation system. This next generation outpost would feature a spinning artificial gravity design, the company claims. In support of this, Vast may conduct a spinning artificial gravity experiment on Haven-1.

In an announcement on 10 May 2023, Vast says it is selling up to four crewed seats on the inaugural mission to Haven-1. The company says expected customers include domestic and international space agencies and private individuals involved in science and philanthropic projects. The language of the announcement, including the future tense and possibility that either single seats or the entire mission are available for sale, hints that no seats are sold as of the date of the announcement. Vast says SpaceX will provide crew training, emergency preparedness, spacesuits and mission simulations.

SpaceX and Vast Announce Commercial Space Station Plan Video

According to Vast, Haven-1 will offer opportunities for science, research, and in-space manufacturing. It will have a large window dome for photography, 24/7 communications, 1000 W of power, and up to 150 kg of pre-loaded cargo mass. There is some confusion about the claimed power availability of 1000 W. The 10 May 2023 announcement describes the power available as 1000 W, yet the Vast website lists Haven-1 specifications as having 15,000 W of power.