Vast is entering the final stages of construction of its private space station Haven-1, scheduled for launch in 2026, which could usher in a new era in human spaceflight.
In recent weeks, the Californian startup has completed the final weld on the main structure of Haven-1, followed by painting. Next steps include the integration of the flight item hatch and a dome window as the company moves closer to realizing its vision of a private space station In low earth orbit (LION).
The space station is intended to be a stepping stone to a new era of human spaceflight, according to Vast principal astronaut Drew Feustel, who spoke with Space.com at the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, in early October.
“If we stick to our plan, we will be the first commercial autonomous LEO platform ever launched into space with Haven-1, and that is an incredible inflection point for human spaceflight,” said Feustel, a former NASA astronaut. THE Falcon 9 because the launch is reserved, and takeoff could take place as early as the second quarter of 2026.
Vast’s rise has been meteoric. Founded in 2021, the company now has around 800 employees. Almost all of its hardware is built in-house, with only the solar panels and thrusters being outsourced. “When I arrived in December 2023, we were still choosing between stainless steel and aluminum.” Feustel called back. “Today, less than two years later, the primary structure is welded.”
Haven-1 will not just be a private station. It will seek to take human spaceflight in a new direction, learning from industry trends and placing human experience more central.
The article on Haven-1 flight has been painted. Next, key components, including the hatch and dome window, will be integrated before pressure and load testing in Mojave, California. pic.twitter.com/uGdlK67zyLOctober 11, 2025
The company took a few pages out of the book of SpaceX, which revolutionized access to the final frontier and was the first space company to begin building a commercial vehicle that wasn’t designed and developed by NASA.
“What SpaceX did — made it clean and functional at the same time — was something the astronauts were skeptical of at first,” Feustel said. “But we ended up enjoying the calmness of the environment.”
Vast has also acquired the expertise and experience of Elon Muskthe company. “Many of our collaborators are former SpaceX employees who wanted to start over, but this time with a space station.”
Haven-1 contrasts with utility International Space Station (ISS) and with a more human-centered design. Haven-1’s aesthetic, psychology and “earth tones” are designed for comfort and calm. Vast also hired a former Campbell food developer to redesign the astronaut kitchen and developed an inflatable sleep system that allows crew members to adjust pressure to create a simulated gravity sensation for sleeping, rather than the tethered sleeping bag approach on the ISS. Visitors to the Vast exhibition at the IAC were able to try out the new system.
When it launches in 2026, Haven-1 will mark an important milestone, but it is also intended as a testbed for more ambitious projects. Haven-2 is a much more ambitious modular project that Vast hopes could replace the ISS, which will be desorbed in 2030.
The Haven-2 modules will add a second docking port, have greater volume, fixed solar panels and possibly a second window. Its modular design allows for the attachment of cargo or future nodes, including a central node designed to be launched via the SpaceX satellite. Spacecraft megarocket, which is currently under development. This larger outpost would be a stepping stone to artificial gravity and long-term habitation.
“Haven-2 will be lengthened, add another docking port and become more modular. We can attach cargo while the crew is there,” Feustel said. These modules will have to be launched on a SpaceX Heavy Falcon rocket with extended fairings. “The central node can only be launched on Starship. It is a class structure with a diameter of eight meters.”
Haven-1 is privately funded and costs money to launch. The design of Haven-2, however, depends on NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. “Once we know the expectations, we can fully concentrate: our architecture is flexible enough to adapt,” Feustel said.
Once again, Haven-2 is a step toward a bigger vision. “We were founded to live long term in space, so artificial gravity” said Eva Behrend, Vast’s vice president of communications. “But we realized we needed stepping stones. So we said, “Let’s build it and prove we can do it.” »
“We see ourselves as building destinations in space, places where people can live, work and look at Earth,” Behrend said. For now, it’s Haven-1 and Haven-2 in low Earth orbit, but Vast is aiming for destinations beyond that.
