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 key agreements at the 40th Space Symposium to advance its commercial space station ambitions and compete to replace the International Space Station (ISS).
A strategic agreement with CASIS (manager of the ISS National Lab) grants Vast direct ISS access for technology validation and research, bolstering its bid for NASA's ISS replacement program and private astronaut missions.
Vast also announced three new payload partners (JAMSS, Interstellar Lab, and Exobiosphere) for its Haven-1 Lab, nearing full capacity and signaling increasing commercial demand for microgravity research in fields like biotechnology, plant growth, and drug development.

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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.