Here’s What the Space Station That Could Replace the ISS Looks Like

NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) has been dominating low Earth orbit for more than 25 years, housing groups of astronauts in the microgravity environment. The orbital lab’s time in space, however, will soon come to an end, and NASA is looking for a replacement.

California-based company Vast Space recently unveiled its plans to take over the coveted spot left behind by the ISS, revealing the design of its Haven-2 space station. The company is set on proposing its private space station for the second phase of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations program (CLD), with plans to launch the first module of Haven-2 in 2028, according to Vast.

Vast has been working on Haven-1, which it plans on launching in 2025. The company claims its single-module Haven-1 will be the world’s first commercial space station, capable of hosting short-duration missions for up to four astronauts at a time. But even before its first space station launches, Vast is eyeing that NASA contract to build another one as a commercial successor to the ISS.

“Our focus this decade is to win the NASA CLD contract and build the successor to the [ISS],” Max Haot, Vast CEO, said in a statement. “To achieve this, we will first demonstrate our capability by building and operating the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1.”

NASA is planning on retiring the ISS by 2030, sending it flying through Earth’s atmosphere where most of it will burn up from the heat of reentry. In 2021, the space agency created its CLD program to recreate the success of the ISS, but NASA is no longer in the business of building space stations. Instead, it simply wants to be a customer, helping its commercial partners build and operate a space station that NASA can use.

Should NASA select Vast to build Haven-2 as the commercial replacement for the ISS, the company plans to launch the first module aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as early as 2028. With that timeline, there would be a two-year overlap with the ISS in orbit. Following the launch of the first module, Vast wants to build and launch three additional modules over a two-year period.

The plan is for the first four modules to be docked in a row, with Vast aiming to launch a larger core module and four additional Haven-2 modules between 2030 and 2032, forming a familiar T-shape in orbit.

Haven-2 will feature a lab for microgravity research and in-space manufacturing, as well as a cupola window similar to the one found on the ISS, a robotic arm, an airlock to support the docking of payloads, and another airlock for spacewalks. Vast also intends on dedicating an entire module to international partners.

To put its space station design in orbit, Vast will have to compete against other companies also working on their own ISS-replacement, including Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman. The company seems confident in its ambitious timeline to operate Haven-2 within the next few years, but NASA will have to be the final judge.

The space agency is already struggling with the aging space station currently in orbit, with a recent report highlighting the wear and tear all those years of being exposed to the harsh environment of space have had on the ISS.