Vast
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Overview
Vast is a commercial space infrastructure company building next-generation space stations using an incremental, hardware-rich, low-cost approach. Their flagship project, Haven-1, is slated to launch in 2027 as the world's first commercial space station. The company conducts in-house life-support, docking-hardware, and solar-array testing at its Long Beach, CA headquarters and in Mojave, CA.
By the Numbers
Founders
Jed McCaleb is a serial entrepreneur best known for co-founding Ripple (XRP) and founding the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange, as well as co-founding the Stellar Development Foundation. He pivoted from fintech to aerospace, self-funding Vast with his crypto fortune.
McCaleb is estimated to have funded Vast largely out of his own pocket using wealth accumulated from his cryptocurrency ventures, making him one of the few crypto billionaires to pour significant capital into commercial space infrastructure.
Funding
Competitors
Axiom is further along in crewed missions (already flown private astronauts to ISS) and has a NASA contract to attach a commercial module to the ISS before building a free-flying station.
Sierra Space is developing the inflatable LIFE habitat and the Dream Chaser spaceplane, backed by Blue Origin's Orbital Reef consortium.
A consortium-based approach to commercial LEO stations with significant NASA funding and backing from Blue Origin's deep pockets.
StarLab is a large-diameter inflatable station backed by Northrop Grumman and Voyager Space with NASA Commercial LEO Destinations funding.
Voyager acquired Nanoracks and is developing StarLab with significant institutional and government backing.
Key People
Previously founder of Livestream and a VP at Verizon Media. Joined Vast as President to lead operations and scale the organization toward its Haven-1 mission.
Retired NASA astronaut with three spaceflights and nine spacewalks, including missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope and a stint as ISS Commander. Serves as an advisor to Vast on crewed operations and mission planning.
Revenue & Model
Hiring Signals
Tech Stack
Notable Customers
Web Presence
Verified from public records — not AI-estimated.
Trackers & Analytics
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How They're Doing
Vast successfully deployed its Haven Demo testbed in November 2025 on the SpaceX Bandwagon-4 rideshare mission, demonstrating solar-array deployment and power-positive operation before de-orbiting in February 2026. This positions the company as on-track toward its Haven-1 commercial station launch target of 2027. The company is actively testing life-support, docking hardware, and solar arrays at its Long Beach and Mojave facilities.
●Haven Demo successfully deployed from SpaceX Bandwagon-4 rideshare mission in November 2025 and demonstrated solar-array deployment
●Haven-1 commercial space station on track for 2027 launch, targeting first commercial crewed missions
●Strategic partnership with SpaceX for launch services and potential crewed Dragon missions to Haven-1
Prognosis
Vast is well-positioned to become a first-mover in the commercial space station market if Haven-1 launches on schedule in 2027, ahead of or alongside competitors. The company's deep-pocketed founder funding and SpaceX partnership reduce key execution risks. Long-term success depends on securing NASA Commercial LEO Destinations contracts, attracting paying customers (governments, researchers, tourists), and scaling to larger multi-module stations.
●NASA Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program could provide substantial government revenue as ISS retirement approaches
●Growing demand for microgravity research, manufacturing, and space tourism from both governments and private clients
●SpaceX partnership provides reliable, cost-effective launch and crewed access via Crew Dragon
●First-mover advantage if Haven-1 launches before competing commercial stations
●Significant technical and schedule risk inherent in building the world's first commercial crewed space station
●Heavy dependence on founder (Jed McCaleb) for funding creates single-point-of-failure financial risk
●Intense competition from better-funded rivals (Axiom, Blue Origin/Sierra Space) and NASA CLD program funding decisions
●Regulatory and safety certification complexity for crewed operations with NASA and FAA
Recent News
Haven Demo testbed successfully de-orbited after completing solar-array deployment and power-positive operation tests
Vast
Haven Demo successfully deployed from SpaceX Bandwagon-4 rideshare mission
Vast
Vast and SpaceX announce partnership to fly Crew Dragon missions to Haven-1 commercial space station
SpaceX / Vast
Vast reveals Haven-1 as planned first commercial space station targeting 2025 launch (later revised to 2027)
Vast
Fun Facts
- 01Vast was founded by Jed McCaleb, who also created Mt. Gox — the infamous early Bitcoin exchange that later collapsed in a massive hack — making him one of the most unusual aerospace CEOs in history.
- 02The company went from founding to deploying a functional space hardware testbed in under five years, an unusually fast pace for orbital infrastructure development.
- 03Despite being a relatively unknown startup, Vast secured a partnership with SpaceX — one of the most selective aerospace partners in the world — to fly Crew Dragon missions to Haven-1.
Timeline
Haven-1 commercial space station targeted for launch as world's first commercial crewed orbital outpost
Haven Demo de-orbited in February after successfully validating power-positive operation in orbit
Haven Demo testbed deployed on SpaceX Bandwagon-4 rideshare in November, demonstrating solar-array deployment
Haven-1 launch timeline revised to 2027; in-house life-support and docking hardware testing underway
SpaceX partnership announced to provide Falcon 9 launch and Crew Dragon crewed access to Haven-1
Haven-1 commercial space station publicly revealed with an initial 2025 launch target
Vast founded by Jed McCaleb in Long Beach, CA with a vision to build commercial space stations