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Vast (company)

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Vast Space
Company typePrivately held company
Industry
Founded2021 in El Segundo, California, U.S.
FounderJed McCaleb[1]
Headquarters
Long Beach, California[1]
,
United States
Key people
OwnerJed McCaleb
Number of employees
606+ (October 2024[3])
SubsidiariesLauncher
Websitevastspace.com

Vast (also styled Vast Space) is a privately held American aerospace company headquartered in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Jed McCaleb with the goal of developing artificial gravity space stations to "expand humanity beyond the solar system".[4]

History

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2021-2023: Founding

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Founded in 2021, Vast "officially" launched in September 2022 with the mission to develop the world's first artificial-gravity space stations.[5] Vast later announced in January 2023 that it planned to relocate its corporate headquarters from El Segundo, California to a newly built 115,000 square-foot facility in Long Beach.[6] The new facility, located in the city's Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan, also planned to house the company's manufacturing operations.[7]

Shortly thereafter, in February 2023, Vast announced its acquisition of Hawthorne-based space startup Launcher, with founder & CEO Max Haot becoming president of Vast.[8][9] As a result of the acquisition, Vast gained its assets, products, and employees.[10] Additionally, former Launcher operations such as the development of its E-2 engine and Orbiter payload host would be undertaken by Vast, with plans to start deploying them in the summer of 2023.[11][12]

In May 2023, Vast announced that it had teamed up with Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch its first single-module space station called Haven-1 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than August 2025.[13] Plans were also unveiled for a crewed flight up to Haven-1, called Vast-1, to be launched shortly after placing the station in orbit.[14] Vast plans to sell 4 seats aboard the spacecraft, after which the crew would receive training by SpaceX in preparation for the mission.[15]

2023-: Development

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In June, Vast commenced its SN3 mission by launching its Orbiter aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on their Transporter-8 mission.[16] The Orbiter was attached to Starfish Space's Otter Pup and would go on to separate from it in the following months.[17] However, on June 21, Haot stated that the Orbiter was "improperly" spinning at 60 rpm. As a result, they elected to immediately deploy all the small sat payloads on board and then stated that Otter Pup's primary mission couldn't be accomplished.[18][19] The SN3's failure caused the delay of the Orbiter SN5 mission from fall 2023 to February 2024.[20][21]

Shortly after the commencement of the SN3 mission, Vast received a Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 (CCSC-2) agreement from NASA to help develop artificial gravity stations.[22] Although the agreement didn't provide Vast with government funds, it did provide them with technical expertise, assessments, data, and more.[23] Shortly thereafter, Vast announced that it had selected Impulse Space to develop Haven-1's propulsion system.[24]

On July 11, 2023, Vast announced that it had hired former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman to advise the company on its commercial space station efforts.[25] A few weeks later, Vast announced that Jeb McCaleb would be stepping down from his role as CEO, and that Max Haot would succeed him as CEO.[26] Vast also announced that it had hired Alex Hudson to be its first CTO.[27] In December, Vast hired Andrew J. Feustel, another former NASA astronaut, as its second human spaceflight adviser.[28]

In mid-February 2024, Vast announced that it was partnering with El Segundo-based company AnySignal, Irvine-based company TRL11, and Singaporean company Addvalue for the providing of radio frequency and Inter-satellite Data Relay System (IDRS) connectivity, as well as advanced onboard video solutions for use in Haven-1.[29][30][31] They announced a few days later that were seeking to bid for future ISS private astronaut missions, providing competition to Axiom Space, who dominates in that aspect.[32]

In April 2024, Vast announced that it would utilize SpaceX's Starlink laser links as part of Haven-1's mission communications system.[33] Later that month, the company announced that it would commence building the initial space capable module after completing a successful pathfinder build.[34]

In August 2024, Vast revealed that Haven-1 will house a microgravity research facility called the Haven-1 Lab, which will serve as the station's microgravity research, development and manufacturing platform. It will have 10 slots, each capable of accommodating payloads weighing up to 30 kilograms and consuming up to 100 watts of power, previously provided by private companies and governments. The first companies to agree to place payloads on Haven-1 have been announced as Redwire and Yuri Gravity.[35]

Hardware

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Rocket engines

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Following the acquisition of Launcher, the development of its E-2 rocket engine was continued within Vast.[36] The E-2 engine is a 3D printed staged combustion liquid propellant rocket engine.[37] Originally meant to be used for Launcher's Light launch vehicle, the E-2 rocket engine was planned to be used alongside the Orbiter space tug and payload host.[38] Following the discontinuation of the Orbiter program, Vast shifted focus towards the development of the E-2.[39]

Orbiter

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The Orbiter was an orbital transfer vehicle capable of approaching/departing spacecraft and carrying customer payload that uses ethane and nitrous as propellants for use as the third stage of any launch vehicle.[40] The Orbiter was initially planned for use as the third stage of Launcher's Light rocket, but plans for such a rocket were discontinued following Vast's acquisition of Launcher.[41] However, further development of the Orbiter was continued within Vast as a part of Launcher's acquisition.[42] Additionally, former Launcher missions which involved Orbiter – such as the SN3 and SN5 missions – were undertaken by Vast.[43] Vast initially were to launch a total of 6 orbiter tugs into space from 2023 to 2025, with the SN3 mission having been launched on June 12, 2023, and SN5 originally planned to launch in October on SpaceX rideshare missions.[43][44] However, following SN3's failure,[45] the Orbiter program was discontinued. Vast currently is building prototypes for key Haven-1 subsystems, such as avionics and propulsion, based around Orbiter space tugs.[8]

Haven-1

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Main article: Haven-1
A rendering of the Haven-1 module in space with a docked Crew Dragon spacecraft

Haven-1 is a planned space station in low Earth orbit that is currently being developed by Vast.[46] The space station, similar to the International Space Station (ISS), is planned to be a zero gravity station, with it conducting artificial gravity experiments in an attempt to mimic the amount of gravity one would experience on the Moon.[47] Haven-1 is planned to initially act as an independent crewed space station, with it later being connected to a "larger" space station that is also currently in development by Vast.[48] The station is planned to be brought to space no earlier than August 2025 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.[13] Shortly thereafter, Vast then plans to have a crew of four launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Vast-1 mission for 30 days upon descending back to Earth.[49]

The station plans to have logistics on board to facilitate docking with the Dragon spacecraft, with it being able to extend the on-orbit duration of spaceflight missions to up to 30 days.[50] With the addition of the Dragon spacecraft, Haven-1 would be able to sustain 4-crew missions with 24/7 communication facilities, up to 1,000 watts of power, up to 150 kg of preloaded cargo mass, and science, research, and in-space manufacturing opportunities for up to 30 days.[51] Haven-1 also plans to be able to offer a variety of amenities and facilities to paying customers, such as having a large window dome on board for photography and viewing, always-on internet through onboard Wi-Fi, resting rooms, and more.[52][53]

Future

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Beyond its Haven-1 space station, Vast has additional plans in the future to expand it by connecting it to a larger station that is also currently in development by Vast. Furthermore, there are also plans for a Starship-oriented variant of Haven-1, called the "Starship-Class Module", that could be operational by as soon as 2028. In addition, Vast also has plans for a 110-meter "spinning stick" station by the 2030s and a fully-fledged "proliferated station fleet" by the 2040s.[54][55][56]

Controversy

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In late March 2024, a complaint was filed in California alleging that a former Vast engineer was wrongfully retaliated against by Vast's CEO and CTO, resulting in the firing of the employee for allegedly engaging in a protected concerted activity and whistleblowing.[57] The employee had claimed that Haven-1’s radio frequencies wouldn’t be in compliance with FCC regulations.

Facilities

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Originally based in El Segundo, Vast relocated its corporate headquarters to a newly built, 115,000 sq ft (10,700 m2) facility in Long Beach, California.[58] The facility hosts much of Vast's manufacturing and executive operations, with it being located in Long Beach's "Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan" in January 2023.[8]

Vast also owns 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2) of land through its acquisition of Launcher, wherein Vast inherited Launcher's former headquarters based in Hawthorne, California.[59]

References

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