Haven-1 Mission Adds French Astronaut To Space Race

U.S. company Vast announced a Haven-1 mission with French astronaut Arnaud Prost, marking the first planned crewed flight to its commercial space station. Vast said Prost will serve as flight test engineer on the first crewed Haven-1 test flight, scheduled for 2027.

Haven-1 could become the world’s first operational commercial space station if it reaches orbit on schedule, according to Vast. Vast Chief Executive Officer Max Haot told AFP the mission marks a shift toward lower-cost crewed spaceflight.

He also said the mission would reduce reliance on Russia. The single-module station will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Crews will travel on SpaceX’s Dragon 2 capsule.

🛰️👨‍🚀 Visitez Haven-1, la future station spatiale commerciale où se rendra l’astronaute français Arnaud Prost en 2027. @Vast a construit une réplique à l’échelle 1:1 des espaces intérieurs, comprenant notamment laboratoire, quartiers d’équipage et dortoir. pic.twitter.com/3qPZ8u0Jwn

— Xplora (@XploraSpace) June 2, 2026

Vast says Haven-1 will support four two-week crewed missions during a planned three-year orbital life. The station will conduct tests before scientific experiments, similar to work on the International Space Station, Haot told AFP.

NASA and its partners plan to end International Space Station operations in 2030. Vast plans to follow Haven-1 with Haven-2, a larger station with nine modules.

The company plans to deploy those modules over time. Haot said Vast aims to have four modules in orbit by 2030. That setup would support six-month missions, he said.

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The company also announced a separate mission to send French astronaut Thomas Pesquet to the International Space Station next year. CNES said it will announce more details on French astronaut missions at the International Space Summit in Paris on September 9 and 10, 2026. Vast also plans to open its European headquarters in Paris.

Axiom Space and Blue Origin are also developing commercial space station plans as the ISS nears retirement.