Vast, a company with expertise in space technology, has taken a step forward by unveiling its latest project: the Haven-1 Laboratory. This will be the world’s first dedicated microgravity research, development and manufacturing facility inside a commercial space station. Scheduled for launch in the second half of 2025, it will function as a generational bridge between space stations, especially in the face of the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030.(ISS) in 2030.
Vast’s innovative Haven-1 Laboratory
Vast CEO Max Haot explained that the Haven-1 laboratory is designed to continue the legacy of the ISS by providing a stable platform for commercial science and research in low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Haot stressed the importance of maintaining this type of research and developing new innovations in microgravity, even as the ISS nears the end of its life cycle. The creation of Haven-1 will allow Vast to expand its scientific and commercial capabilities in space, ensuring that the flow of vital research is not interrupted.
The Haven-1 will offer its partners the ability to use onboard facilities for a variety of disciplines, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, advanced materials manufacturing and scientific experiments. The future laboratory will be equipped with 10 microwave-sized payload slots, each capable of supporting up to 30 kg of weight.
It will also provide 100 W of continuous power and data access via Ethernet connection. The astronaut crew and ground operators, who will communicate via links based on Starlink technology. In addition, partners will have the opportunity to return products and samples to Earth using SpaceX Dragon spacecraftspacecraft, adding an unprecedented level of flexibility to ongoing research.
Haven-1 Laboratory technology partners
With the announcement of the Haven-1 Laboratory, Vast has confirmed its first inaugural partners: Redwire and Yuri. These companies are recognized in the field of microgravity research and will be key to the development of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs at Haven-1. Haot expressed his pride in collaborating with industry leaders such as Redwire and Yuri, highlighting the need for a consistent platform to conduct cross-sector research in a manned environment, which will facilitate the expansion of knowledge in a variety of areas.
Redwire, a company with more than 30 years of experience in human spaceflight and space biotechnology, will be a key partner in the Haven-1 project. The company has developed important technologies, such as printing the first human meniscus and living heart tissue in space, as well as the PIL-BOX platform for drug development.
Also, Yuri joins Vast as an innovative biotechnology partner, with a focus on the development of microgravity medical products and solutions. This collaboration will allow Yuri to expand its presence in the global research community, using its ScienceTaxi platform to conduct advanced scientific experiments. Yuri’s co-founder and CEO, Maria Birlem, mentioned that this alliance will enable greater European utilization of LEO and offer “non-US” stakeholders simplified access to microgravity under the banner of a new era of international collaboration in space.
The Pathfinder Haven-1 assembly. Source: VAST
On the other hand, Vast, with the objective of fostering innovation in payload space, the company offers a unique program, making it easier for individuals and companies, regardless of their size or capacity, to collaborate and access space for joint or independent experiments in microgravity. In this way, they can collaborate and access space to conduct joint or independent experiments in microgravity, taking advantage of the opportunities for growth and collaborative development offered by Haven-1.
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Source and photo: VAST
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