Vast has officially reached orbit. Its first technology demonstrator, Haven Demo, was successfully deployed aboard SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 mission on November 2, 2025, from Cape Canaveral.
Shortly after separation, the Demo module achieved sun-pointing, established communications, and confirmed nominal operations. Vast reported stable power, attitude control, and successful solar-array deployment captured in 4K video.
The mission marks a critical step toward the company’s goal of operating the first commercial space station built entirely by a private firm. This prototype validates the systems that will underpin Haven 1, slated for launch in 2026.
“Vast is moving forward at speed, building Haven-1 as the world’s first commercial space station. It is the stepping stone to kick off a larger, more capable multi-module space station and prove our technology, team, and facilities in space with crew.”
— Max Haot, Vast CEO
Advertisement
Vast’s pathway to orbit
The Haven Demo serves as an in-orbit technology demonstrator built by Vast to validate key systems before the full station is launched. The compact spacecraft measures about 1.2 meters in diameter and 1 meter in length, carrying hardware for propulsion, guidance, power systems, and avionics, the same core technologies planned for its larger successor.
With a mass of around 500 kilograms, the Demo module will operate in low Earth orbit for six months to test these subsystems under real space conditions. It may be small in scale, but it represents a decisive step toward privately developed, sustainable orbital habitats.
By contrast, Haven 1 is a full-scale, crew-rated module designed to provide about 45 cubic meters of habitable volume within a structure 8 meters long and 3.8 meters wide. It will feature life-support systems, deployable solar arrays generating more than 13 kilowatts of power, and precise attitude control using control-moment gyroscopes.
Haven Lab, attached to Haven 1, will expand capabilities with microgravity research and manufacturing facilities. Ten experiment lockers, remote commanding, and continuous power access will make it a valuable platform for science and technology in orbit.
Thus, the company strategy is clear: the Demo tests the building blocks, Haven 1 assembles them into an operational habitat, and the Lab opens it to customers and crew. Step by step, Vast is turning the concept of a commercial station into a working reality.
Advertisement
From the first station onward
Vast has already completed most of the major milestones for Haven 1, including pressure-vessel assembly, solar arrays integration, and propulsion testing. The module’s avionics and life-support systems are now undergoing qualification ahead of launch readiness in 2026.
Next comes the crucial phase: final environmental testing and integration with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, which will handle both launch and crew transport. This partnership ensures reliable logistics, from deployment to the first crewed mission that will inaugurate the world’s first fully private space station.
Beyond this first station, Vast is developing Haven 2, a larger modular habitat planned to begin operations in 2028. It will expand habitable volume and mission duration while introducing scalable architecture for commercial, research, and long-term orbital operations.
Looking further ahead, the company aims to deploy its artificial-gravity station around 2035, designed to rotate and simulate gravity for sustained human health in orbit. This ambitious project would mark the transition from short-term missions to a truly permanent human presence in space.
*Cover image credits: Vast
Advertisement
