SpaceX partner aims to launch a commercial space station

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Vast — a California-based startup and one of the newer entrants in the world of privatized spaceflight — plans to use a SpaceX rocket to launch what it is It hopes to be the world’s first commercial space station and carry passengers to and from the outpost.

It is not clear how much file an agreement, announced by Vast on Wednesday, will cost. The company’s leadership declined to comment on the matter to CNN. Nor is it clear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors, which could include professional astronauts or tourists.

Jed McCaleb, founder and CEO of Vast who previously made a fortune in cryptocurrency, said in a statement that the company is “thrilled to embark on this journey of launching the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, and its first crewed station, Vast- 1″.

McCaleb said he is investing $300 million of his own money in the effort, and does not plan to seek outside investment for Vast until its proposed space station is up and running and can generate revenue. He added that he acknowledges that the overall project will likely cost him more than $300 million.

It’s not certain that Vast will actually become the first company to put a private space station into orbit. Fast says it aims for an August 2025 release date. However, developing a space station is a very complex endeavor, requiring extensive testing and key technology such as life support systems.

McCaleb said Vast would have an advantage because it could take advantage of life support systems already developed for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which the company plans to use to ferry passengers to its space station.

McCaleb told CNN that Vast will supply its Haven-1 space station with necessary consumables — such as oxygen and other life-sustaining materials — but the company won’t have to develop a life-support system from scratch.

Other companies – including several Supported by NASA – We are also developing private space stations. NASA, along with its global partners, is seeking to use a specially developed space station to replace the aging International Space Station, which has been continuously inhabited in low Earth orbit since 2000.

The Biden-Harris administration and officials in Canada, Japan and the participating countries of the European Space Agency authorized The International Space Station will remain operational until 2030. But the other major partner on the International Space Station, Russia, has said it will only guarantee participation until 2028.

It’s not clear how much of the $300 million McCaleb earmarked for the Haven-1 project will go to SpaceX for launch services. Vast has not shared financial details about its agreement with the company.

Dragon Team And the team and leadership (at SpaceX) really want to build a space station based on Falcon 9″ Max Haute, Vast’s president. Haot led the aerospace company Launcher prior to this acquired by Vast in feb. “So we’re very, very in agreement.”

Vast’s simple, single-hull space station, Haven 1, will be capable of launching a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the workhorse vehicle SpaceX launched more than a decade ago.

After sending the spacecraft into orbit, SpaceX will provide training to four members of the yet-to-be-named crew for a mission dubbed Vast-1.

“Fast sells up to four crew seats in the opening mission to Haven-1,” the company said in a press release. Potential clients include local and international space agencies and individuals involved in scientific and charitable projects.

Initially, the company plans for Haven-1 to operate autonomously, and to float freely in Earth’s orbit. Later, the company plans to attach the spacecraft as a module to a larger space station.

Fast said his ultimate goal is to create a massive orbiting space station artificial attraction It can be launched on the SpaceX Starship, a rocket still in the development stages I exploded atmosphere during its inaugural test flight in April.