Judul : Race for First Private Space Station Intensifies as NASA Retires ISS
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Race for First Private Space Station Intensifies as NASA Retires ISS
With the International Space Station scheduled to cease operations in 2030, the American aerospace company Vast has entered a competitive race to develop the world's first commercial space station.
Haven-1, a small space station set to be launched in May 2026, was created with comfort in mind, as stated by Andrew Feustel, a former NASA astronaut who currently serves as an advisor at Vast.
"It comes with a three-year life span, and during this time, we intend to send multiple teams of four to visit the spacecraft, one group at a time," he said to AFP while on the sidelines of the Web Summit in Lisbon.
A company based in California, established in 2021 by wealthy individual Jed McCaleb, aims to substitute the International Space Station with Haven-2, a more extensive iteration of the initial design.
However, Vast encounters strong competition from various rivals, such as Axiom Space, Voyager Space in collaboration with Airbus, and Jeff Bezos's Amazon-backed Blue Origin.
Expectations are focused on obtaining financial support from a NASA budget of as much as $1.5 billion for the creation of commercial space stations, which will be announced in April 2026.
'Aggressive timelines'
"Space agencies are no longer interested in maintaining the infrastructure" of the International Space Station, stated Ugo Bonnet, director of the Spaceflight Institute, which provides education for commercial human space missions.
Engaged in rivalry with China, NASA aims to prioritize manned mission initiatives to the Moon by the end of the decade and ultimately establish a base on the lunar terrain.
Instead of overseeing programs directly, NASA intends to acquire services for replacing the ISS — a significant advantage for private companies operating in the space industry.
"A number of players are entering with extremely aggressive schedules, and we can't proceed as we used to in the past," stated Roberto Angelini, director of the Exploration and Science Domain at Thales Alenia Space.
A French-Italian collaboration is scheduled to provide the initial two pressurized modules for Axiom's upcoming commercial space station, which may become functional as early as 2028.
It has also produced approximately half of the pressurized modules for the International Space Station. The company's primary challenge, however, is to "stay competitive in terms of pricing," according to Angelini.
Changing business models
NASA allocates as much as $4 billion annually for the International Space Station, which constitutes approximately one-third of the agency's yearly budget for human spaceflight.
SpaceX's recoverable launch systems have transformed the industry, reducing transport expenses and creating opportunities for such private initiatives.
Grand designs to launch Haven-1 into space using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, while Axiom's private mission will involve astronauts traveling in one of their Crew Dragon spacecraft.
"Only 15 to 20 years back, launching a kilogram into space was priced at $60,000," Bonnet mentioned to AFP. "Once Starship, SpaceX's rocket, starts functioning in 2030, the expense will drop below $200 per kilogram," he further stated.
However, running a commercial space station will still involve a significant expense.
"I'm uncertain regarding their long-term financial viability," remarked Beatrice Hainaut, a space policy expert at the Institute for Strategic Research affiliated with the Military School.
Businesses are relying on higher demand from governments and the private sector to boost income.
Vast anticipates that 85 percent of its revenue from manned missions will be sourced from government agencies, with the remaining 15 percent coming from private customers.
Feustel mentioned that the company aimed to serve as a "service provider not only for the US government," but also for all nations wishing to send their astronauts to space for training and scientific purposes.
Under $100 million, you can send an astronaut to space using a VAST spacecraft.
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