Private space stations – so hot right now

The International Space Station is currently scheduled to retire and come crashing back down to Earth in early 2031 – and the race to build its first successor is heating up. Yesterday, California-based startup Vast announced a partnership with SpaceX to put the world’s first commercial space station, called Haven-1, in orbit by late 2025.

🛰️ More details… Vast was founded in 2021 by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, who has committed $300 million to the company so far.

And while that’s a liiiitle bit shy of the $150+ billion it took to construct and operate the ISS over the past 25 years, Vast also plans to fund its efforts by competing for billions of dollars worth of NASA contracts, as well as selling month-long trips onboard Haven-1 to other space agencies and organizations.

• If everything goes according to plan, Haven-1 will be launched into orbit by SpaceX’s Falcon9 rocket as early as August 2025.
• Future trips to-and-from the four-person space station will be carried out by SpaceX’s autonomous Crew Dragon capsule, which currently serves the same role for the ISS.

📸 Big picture: When it comes to building space stations, NASA is like a baker – its hands are in many pies. The space agency is currently funding multiple private space-station ventures to collectively replace the ISS by the end of the decade, with participants including Northrop Grumman, Axiom Space, Nanoracks, and Blue Origin.