The first commercial space station is nearly here. And it could change space forever

In 2026, a team of astronauts will float inside a glossy white cylinder orbiting hundreds of kilometres above Earth.

They’ll gaze down at the planet through a 1.1-metre domed window, sleep in inflatable beds designed for zero gravity, and carry out experiments on the human body, plant growth and protein crystallisation.

But this isn’t the International Space Station (ISS). It’s not run by NASA, Roscosmos or the China National Space Administration. This is Haven-1 – the world’s first commercial space station, built by a private company called Vast.

Set to launch in May 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, Haven-1 represents a radical shift in the way we live and work in space.

“If we are able to do this before we win the NASA contract [to replace the ISS] using our own funding,” Vast CEO Max Haot tells BBC Science Focus, “we will be not only the world’s first commercial space station, but the only of the expected bidders to have done that.”

A minimum viable space station

Vast’s approach is fast, focused and unashamedly pragmatic. Instead of building a sprawling orbital laboratory, they’ve designed a tightly constrained system that does just enough – safely.

At 45m³ (1,590 ft³), Haven-1 has roughly the interior volume of a small tour bus. Its life-support system borrows from earlier NASA tech, running on a simpler “open loop” design like that used on the Space Shuttle.

Crew members won’t stay for months like they do on the ISS. Instead, four astronauts will visit for roughly ten days at a time, arriving on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Over Haven-1’s three-year orbital lifetime, only four such missions are planned.

“The number one priority for Haven-1 as a demonstration of a minimum viable product space station is safety,” Haot says. “Number two is to make it happen within this unprecedented timeline. A rapid timeline also means lower cost.”

Keeping things simple allows Vast to move quickly. The primary structure is already being assembled and is due for testing this summer, following completion in July. By early next year, the entire system should be integrated and undergoing final tests in preparation for launch.

A cross section showing the internal layout of the new space station. — Haven-1 will host four crew members at a time on 10-day missions. - VAST

A station that looks like the future

Visually, Haven-1 is a striking departure from its predecessors. The ISS – a miraculous feat of engineering, though it is – has always looked a little like a floating plumbing depot. Haven-1 is designed to look more like science fiction. Its interior is clean, considered and unusually elegant for a space habitat.

But this aesthetic overhaul isn’t just for show. It’s about function. “We go to space to work,” Haot says. “It’s not difficult to understand that if you are able to rest better, feel better and communicate better, you’re going to work better.”

That’s where Vast’s human factors team comes in. Guided by veteran NASA astronaut Drew Feustel – who spent over 200 days in space and conducted spacewalks on both the Shuttle and the ISS – they’ve rethought the basics of crew comfort.

Sleeping, for instance, will be done using inflatable beds that apply gentle pressure to the body, replicating a sensation some astronauts crave in microgravity.

“People want to sleep in different ways on the ISS,” Haot says. “A lot of astronauts like to have pressure applied to their bodies when they sleep – we’ve heard that some of them wedge themselves in cupboards in the ISS.”

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What will happen onboard?

Each mission to Haven-1 will be short but jam-packed. Scientists will have around 40 crew-days to work with across the station’s lifespan – a valuable resource, given how rare human time in orbit still is.

“Humanity really doesn’t have many hours to learn about living in space and test technologies,” Haot says. “We see every hour that you can be productive as really important.”

Research projects already lined up include studies in human biology, drug screening, plant growth and protein crystal formation. Vast has signed partnerships with Redwire Space (US), Yuri (Germany), and Exobiosphere (Luxembourg), with more to follow.

One French company, Interstellar Lab, will study how plants grow in microgravity.

Between missions, the station will be used to test artificial gravity systems – an early step toward making long-duration space travel safer and more viable.

A strategic play for the post-ISS era

There’s more to Haven-1 than just research. It’s a calculated move in a much bigger race.

NASA plans to retire the ISS around 2030, and is currently evaluating bids for the next generation of orbital platforms. Haot wants Vast to win that contract, and launching Haven-1 early, with private funding, is a bold way to leapfrog the competition.

“Our strategy is to be the one that has done the most out of all the competition,” Haot says. “To be the furthest along in technology development, team, facilities and proof point, and we’ve kind of already reached that point.”

The race is by no means won, however. Another spaceflight company, Axiom Space, has already been awarded a $140 million contract with NASA to attach at least one module to the ISS. Construction at Axiom is underway, with the first launch targeted at the end of 2026.

Companies like Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and Starlab are also in the running.

If they succeed, the Vast team will be in a strong position when NASA makes its decision in 2026. But even if they don’t win, Haot insists Haven-1 will still have value. Vast may look to foreign governments and private organisations interested in booking time aboard the station if its NASA goals don’t come to fruition.

“We still think that there's likely a bright future for Vast, but internally we're very focused on this,” Haot says. “It’s something we should win for obvious reasons. It’s the biggest opportunity in the world right now in the space station market.”

An astronaut carries out an experiment on the space station. — Though time on Haven-1 will be short, the astronauts on board will carry out hundreds of experiments. - VAST

From Haven-1 to a full orbital hub

Haven-1 is only the beginning. Vast’s next step is Haven-2 – a more advanced module that follows the same approach. From 2028 onwards, the company plans to launch new modules roughly every six months, eventually assembling a full commercial station by 2032.

This modular future opens the door to more frequent crewed missions, private research programmes, and eventually, a broader orbital economy.

And thanks to a deal with SpaceX, Haven-1 will also be the first space station to hook up to Starlink, providing gigabit-speed internet to orbit – a leap forward for real-time communication, outreach and data transfer.

“Aboard Haven-1, if you want to speak to somebody 24/7, you can,” Haot says. “That’s going to be very different in how the general public and the crew can interact.”

Space, redefined

Haven-1 won’t be the largest station in orbit, or the most advanced. But it will be the first that’s built, funded and operated entirely by a private company – and that’s the point.

By showing that space infrastructure can be lean, elegant and commercially viable, Vast hopes to redraw the map of low Earth orbit. Whether for science, exploration or industry, Haot is betting that the future of space doesn’t belong to nations. It belongs to whoever gets there first.

“The purpose is not to build a luxury hotel in space and attract tourists,” Haot says. “The purpose is to build a great environment to be and work in.

“It’s not without risk… We’ll just have to see what happens in reality.”