Vast Proposes New Space Station for 2028 That Will 2 Modules Per Year Through 2032

By Brian Wang

Vast Space, the aerospace startup founded by former crypto tycoon Jed McCaleb, plans to replace the International Space Station. Haven-2 would serve as a specialized lab in low-Earth orbit, where visitors can conduct microgravity research. The Vast Haven-1 space station is targeting August 2025.

They will start with four cylindrical modules that can dock to one another to form one complete station. The first module of Haven-2 should be operational in 2028 and will then be expanded by about two modules per year through 2032.

Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Starlab Space have already been awarded agreements and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding by NASA to develop designs for commercial space facilities.

Orbital Reef is an under development low Earth orbit (LEO) space station being designed by Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Sierra Space for commercial space activities and space tourism uses. Blue Origin has referred to it as a mixed-use business park. The companies released preliminary concepts for the station on 25 October 2021. The station is being designed to support 10 persons in 830 m3 of volume. As of March 2022, the station was projected to be operational by 2027.

Axiom Space has run into financial problems and had to layoff staff and cut salaries.

Starlab Space is now a joint venture between Voyager Space, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, and MDA Space. Voyager Space, the leader of the Starlab Space Joint Venture, has been awarded over $217 million through a Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop Starlab.

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Launch Vehicle Selection: Starlab has selected SpaceX's Starship to launch the space station into orbit in a single flight, planned for 2028

Vast also hopes to compete as NASA picks finalists for its space station successor contracts in 2026, which Haot anticipates would potentially award $2 billion in funding for as many as two winners.