(Photo: Courteѕy of Vаst)
Jed McCaleb, the founder and CEO of Vast, revealed that he will personally invest $300 million into the project and has no intentions of seeking external funding until the project is completed and generates revenue. Vast aims to conduct its inaugural launch in August 2025. Nevertheless, developing a space station is a highly intricate undertaking that demands advanced technologies and extensive testing.
According to McCaleb, Vast holds an advantage as it can utilize the life support system already developed for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which the company plans to use for transporting passengers to the space station. Vast will equip its Haven-1 space station with essential supplies, including oxygen and other life-sustaining materials.
The Haven-1 space station features a relatively simple structure and can be launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, a specialized vehicle that SpaceX has been using for over a decade. Vast is offering up to four crew seats on the first mission to Haven-1. Expected customers include domestic and international space agencies, as well as private entities participating in scientific and philanthropic projects, as stated by the company.
In addition, Vast stated that their ultimate objective is to establish a colossal artificial gravity-based space station orbiting Earth.