The CEO of commercial space station developer Vast, Max Haot, expressed his support for NASA’s updated strategy for supporting the development of commercial space stations. Speaking at the Global Aerospace Summit on September 11th, he called the revised approach the optimal solution to prevent a disruption in the U.S.’s continuous human presence in orbit.
Haot endorsed NASA’s new plan, unveiled over a month prior, which entails multiple Space Act Agreements to facilitate development culminating in a four-person, 30-day demonstration mission. “We think it’s really the right direction,” he stated, noting the accelerated award timeline. NASA's draft solicitation anticipates awarding several funded agreements by April 2026, significantly ahead of previous schedules. Haot also advocated for two or three agreements, stating, “We’ve seen in commercial crew, between Boeing and SpaceX, why it’s really critical to keep two winners, two companies competing all the way to the end.” He further asserted that previous plans, which might have yielded only one winner with limited or no station experience, were “just not wise.”
Haot also voiced his support for the 30-day demonstration mission, a point of contention within the new approach. Some have interpreted this as NASA retreating from a permanent human presence in low Earth orbit post-International Space Station retirement. Haot countered this perspective, describing the demo as a crucial stepping stone towards a permanently crewed station. “If you say, ‘I want permanent presence on day one,’ all you do is you delay when you see that,” he explained. NASA intends to pursue longer missions in subsequent phases by procuring services from commercial stations. Angela Hart, manager of NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations program, confirmed at a September 8th industry day that a one-month mission is “not NASA’s long-term goal.”
While some in the industry suggest Vast benefits from the revised strategy due to its Haven-1 station—a single-module design for four-person crews on missions totaling around 40 days—Haot clarified that the company is not altering its plans. These plans already encompass a larger Haven-2 station designed to support NASA. He stressed Vast’s dedication to long-term human presence, stating, “We think it’s critical to stay in low Earth orbit, not to cede it to China.” He further outlined Vast's business model: “What are we selling? The number one thing we’re selling is missions on orbit, seats and time in a space station. Of course we are incentivized and we want to sell the U.S. government full-year occupancy instead of 30 days.”
Haot anticipates NASA as the primary, but not exclusive, client. He projects 20% to 30% of revenue from the U.S. government, with a larger portion from international partnerships. Private individuals, he estimates, would contribute 10% to 15% of revenue, primarily focused on research and exploration rather than tourism. He argued that station developers should strive for profitability solely with these customers. Future markets, spanning in-space manufacturing to sponsorship and media, could be considerably larger, but their timeline remains uncertain: “but no one knows it if will take five years, two years or ten years.” He concluded, “Our view is, if you’re profitable in the current market, we will get to unlock that. And that will be our upside.”