WASHINGTON — Commercial space station developer Vast has hired another former NASA astronaut as the company delays the launch of its first station.
Vaast announced on January 23 that former NASA astronaut Megan MacArthur has joined the company as an astronaut consultant. In that role, she will advise the company on design and operational issues related to human space flight.
MacArthur retired from NASA’s astronaut corps last August after more than two decades at the agency. He flew on the final shuttle servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125, in 2009, and later spent more than six months on the International Space Station as part of the Crew-2 mission in 2021.
“I’m excited to bring that experience forward and support VAST’s vision for the next era of human spaceflight,” MacArthur said in a statement. “Giant has the team, focus and ambition to lead the development of the next generation of space stations.”
He is one of several former astronauts now working with Vaast. Former NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel is the company’s lead astronaut, and another former NASA astronaut, Garrett Reisman, serves as a consultant. Former Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki is the general manager of the company’s Japanese subsidiary, Giant Japan.
Vishal has also brought on board additional former NASA leadership. The company announced last month the appointment of Kathy Lueders as an advisor. Lueders is a former associate administrator of NASA, who oversaw the agency’s human spaceflight programs and later worked at SpaceX as general manager of its Starbase facility.
VAST is drawing on the experience of former astronauts and agency officials as it works on commercial space stations, starting with Haven-1. The single-module station will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket and be visited by four Crew Dragon spacecraft on short-duration missions.
The company announced on January 20 that it had begun integration of Haven-1 at its facilities in Long Beach, California. That work includes the installation of pressurized fluid systems and avionics. Integration will conclude with preparing the interior of the module and installing shielding, radiators and solar arrays on the exterior.
West was targeting a mid-2026 launch of Haven-1, but said in its statement that the launch has been pushed to the first quarter of 2027.
“Haven-1 represents a true zero-to-one evolution, and as Vaast moves forward on its second, third and subsequent stations, schedule precision will continue to improve as systems, processes and integration maturity increases,” the company said. Human spaceflight safety remains its top priority.
“From the beginning, our business plan has been about building a sustainable future in orbit that is tailored to today’s market while laying the foundation for what’s to come,” said Max Haot, chief executive of Vaast. “By vertically integrating design, manufacturing, testing and operations, we are moving forward with both speed and autonomy.”
