{"id":103114,"date":"2026-02-17T04:50:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/vast-selected-by-nasa-for-sixth-private-astronaut-mission-to-international-space-station\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T04:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:50:44","slug":"vast-selected-by-nasa-for-sixth-private-astronaut-mission-to-international-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/vast-selected-by-nasa-for-sixth-private-astronaut-mission-to-international-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Vast Selected by NASA for Sixth Private Astronaut Mission to International Space Station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Delhi [India], February 17<\/strong>: <\/span>Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations, has signed an order with NASA for the sixth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than summer 2027 from Florida. It is Vast\u2019s first private astronaut mission to the space station in partnership with NASA.<\/p>\n

\u201cVast is honored to have been selected by NASA for the sixth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station,\u201d said Max Haot, CEO of Vast. \u201cLeveraging the remaining life of the International Space Station with\u00a0science\u00a0and\u00a0research-led\u00a0commercial\u00a0crewed\u00a0missions\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0critical\u00a0part\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0transition\u00a0to\u00a0commercial\u00a0space stations and fully unlocking the orbital economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vast private astronaut mission crew is expected to spend up to 14 days aboard the space station. A specific launch date will depend on overall spacecraft traffic at the orbital outpost and other planning considerations. SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew on a Dragon spacecraft to the space station\u00a0as previously<\/a>\u00a0announced<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

The mission will generate invaluable insights into the infrastructure and processes required for Vast to safely accomplish\u00a0human\u00a0spaceflight\u00a0missions.\u00a0The\u00a0mission\u00a0supports\u00a0deeper\u00a0collaboration\u00a0with\u00a0NASA\u00a0and\u00a0international space agencies in addition to strengthening Vast\u2019s position as a candidate to deliver its proposed successor to the space station, the multi-module, continuously crewed Haven-2.<\/p>\n

Vast is planning a robust science and research portfolio with a focus on biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, human research, and technology demonstrations for the mission. Last year,\u00a0Vast announced\u00a0a\u00a0call\u00a0for<\/a>\u00a0research proposals for a potential PAM mission.<\/a>\u00a0In addition, Vast\u2019s\u00a0current agreement with CASIS<\/a>\u00a0will enable increased throughput of high-quality science that aligns with its science strategy.<\/p>\n

To submit a research proposal for consideration, visit:\u00a0https:\/\/www.vastspace.com\/science-rfp-eligibility.<\/a><\/p>\n

About\u00a0Vast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure continuous human presence in space for America and\u00a0its\u00a0allies,\u00a0enabling\u00a0advanced\u00a0microgravity\u00a0research\u00a0and\u00a0manufacturing,\u00a0and\u00a0unlocking\u00a0a\u00a0new\u00a0space\u00a0economy for\u00a0government,\u00a0corporate,\u00a0and\u00a0private\u00a0customers.\u00a0Using\u00a0an\u00a0incremental,\u00a0hardware-rich\u00a0and\u00a0low-cost\u00a0approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo\u2019s 2025 success made Vast the only operational\u00a0commercial\u00a0space\u00a0station\u00a0company\u00a0to\u00a0fly\u00a0and\u00a0operate\u00a0its\u00a0own\u00a0spacecraft.\u00a0Next,\u00a0Haven-1\u00a0is\u00a0expected to become the world\u2019s first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0more\u00a0than\u00a01,000 employees\u00a0at\u00a0its\u00a0Long Beach, California\u00a0headquarters\u00a0and\u00a0over\u00a0a\u00a0billion\u00a0dollars\u00a0in\u00a0private capital\u00a0invested,\u00a0Vast\u00a0has\u00a0built the\u00a0facilities required to\u00a0manufacture\u00a0and operate\u00a0America\u2019s\u00a0next space\u00a0station. The\u00a0company\u00a0plans\u00a0to\u00a0develop\u00a0future\u00a0habitats\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0Moon\u00a0and\u00a0Mars,\u00a0dedicated\u00a0space\u00a0stations\u00a0for\u00a0government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.<\/p>\n

If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Delhi [India], February 17: Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations, has signed an order with NASA for the sixth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than summer 2027 from Florida. It is Vast\u2019s first private astronaut mission to the space station in partnership with NASA. \u201cVast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[128],"class_list":["post-103114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianweekend.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}