Vast Bolsters Commercial Space Station Plans With Key Agreements

Company is developing a commercial replacement for the ISS, which is planned to be retired at the end of the decade.

Jack Daleo

Friday, April 11, 2025 at 03:03 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

Under an agreement announced Thursday, Vast will have ‘direct access’ to the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

Vast Space secured a strategic agreement with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) for direct access to the ISS National Laboratory, allowing it to validate technologies and conduct research essential for its proposed ISS replacement, Haven-2.
The company also announced three new payload partners—Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS), Interstellar Lab, and Exobiosphere—for its Haven-1 Lab, which is now nearing full capacity for microgravity research and manufacturing.
These new partnerships significantly heighten Vast Space's competitive standing in developing commercial space stations and fostering a low-Earth orbit economy, with the Haven-1 Lab scheduled for deployment in May 2026.

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Vast Space, one of several commercial firms vying to replace the International Space Station (ISS) following its planned deorbit at the end of the decade, this week signed key agreements that heighten the competition.

At the 40th Space Symposium in Colorado, where Vast’s Haven-1 space station was on display, the company secured deals that give it direct ISS access and three new customers for its Haven-1 Lab, which is being developed as the first microgravity research and manufacturing platform on a commercial space station. The company is also developing Haven-2, its proposed ISS replacement.