NASA's Plan for a Commercial Space Station Hits a Speed Bump. The first commercial space station, Haven-1, is now undergoing assembly in preparation for its planned launch later this year.
The private company behind the project, Vast Space, aims to send a crew on board the station as soon as possible, but the company's CEO Max Haot has admitted that launching with crew will have to wait until the station is thoroughly tested and validated. The first test of Haven-1, which involved installing the primary structure and some secondary components, was completed in January.
Vast Space plans to send its first crew on board the station within a year or two years from now, but it's not clear what that timeline will be yet. To get there, Haot said that Vast Space is currently undergoing clean room integration, which involves installing the thermal control system, propulsion, interior shells, and avionics.
The company plans to launch Haven-1 with a Falcon 9 rocket, without any crew on board initially. After that, it will undergo a series of tests to ensure everything is working properly. Once those tests are complete, Vast Space plans to send its first crew on board.
Vast Space's plan for the space station involves building two modules: one smaller module and one larger module. The smaller module will be Haven-1, while the larger module will be Haven-2. The company plans to start construction of Haven-2 in the near future, but it's not clear when that will happen.
In terms of NASA's plan for a commercial space station program, Vast Space is eager to see the program move forward as quickly as possible. However, the company believes that NASA should focus on ensuring that all private companies have a fair chance to compete for contracts, rather than just favoring one or two companies.
Vast Space also believes that the government needs to commit enough funding to make the commercial space station program a success. With the current budget, Vast Space thinks it can be successful with just two companies operating, but more funding would be welcome.
Overall, Vast Space's plan for Haven-1 and its role in NASA's commercial space station program is an important one that could determine the future of private spaceflight in the US.
The private company behind the project, Vast Space, aims to send a crew on board the station as soon as possible, but the company's CEO Max Haot has admitted that launching with crew will have to wait until the station is thoroughly tested and validated. The first test of Haven-1, which involved installing the primary structure and some secondary components, was completed in January.
Vast Space plans to send its first crew on board the station within a year or two years from now, but it's not clear what that timeline will be yet. To get there, Haot said that Vast Space is currently undergoing clean room integration, which involves installing the thermal control system, propulsion, interior shells, and avionics.
The company plans to launch Haven-1 with a Falcon 9 rocket, without any crew on board initially. After that, it will undergo a series of tests to ensure everything is working properly. Once those tests are complete, Vast Space plans to send its first crew on board.
Vast Space's plan for the space station involves building two modules: one smaller module and one larger module. The smaller module will be Haven-1, while the larger module will be Haven-2. The company plans to start construction of Haven-2 in the near future, but it's not clear when that will happen.
In terms of NASA's plan for a commercial space station program, Vast Space is eager to see the program move forward as quickly as possible. However, the company believes that NASA should focus on ensuring that all private companies have a fair chance to compete for contracts, rather than just favoring one or two companies.
Vast Space also believes that the government needs to commit enough funding to make the commercial space station program a success. With the current budget, Vast Space thinks it can be successful with just two companies operating, but more funding would be welcome.
Overall, Vast Space's plan for Haven-1 and its role in NASA's commercial space station program is an important one that could determine the future of private spaceflight in the US.