Latest news with #Haot
NDTV
4 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
As Race To Replace Space Station Heats Up, California Company Bets On Haven-1
As the International Space Station (ISS) approaches its retirement, the race to build the next generation of space stations is heating up, particularly in the commercial sector. Leading the charge is Max Haot, the CEO of VAST Space, a company dedicated to creating a commercial space station named Haven-1. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Haot shared insights into the unique aspects of Haven-1, the competition with other entities like Axiom and India, and the potential for collaboration with ISRO. "We're going through an era where the current International Space Station is one of the most expensive objects ever created by humans, about $150 billion," Mr Haot said. "And we are now transitioning to an era where the commercial space stations are run by commercial entities, not by the government. The two key criteria are safety and dramatically lowering the cost." NASA is running a competition called the Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destination (CLD) program, where in July 2026, they are expected to pick one or two winners to develop the replacement for the ISS. Mr Haot emphasised VAST Space's unique strategy: to build a commercial space station before NASA makes its decision. "No one has ever built a commercial space station yet. And we want to build one before NASA makes the decision." The space station, named Haven-1, integrates with the Crew Dragon spacecraft of SpaceX and is set to launch on a single Falcon 9 rocket in May 2026. "It is a single module space station that can house a crew of four with important science, Starlink internet, sleeping berths, and all the consumables to live there on a two-week mission. It will be in orbit for three years. During that time, we will have four two-week missions with the Dragon spacecraft," he said. Mr Haot explained that the main reason for building Haven-1 is to win the NASA competition to develop a much larger space station composed of nine modules. "We believe that if we are selected in July 2026, we will have the first module up for NASA and other international partners in orbit by the end of 2028, a year ahead of what NASA requires. More importantly, it will allow NASA and its partners to test the replacement with a two-year overlap before the retirement of the ISS." When asked about the cost, Mr Haot highlighted the significant reduction compared to the ISS. "VAST is investing a billion dollars by the time we fly Haven-1 next year, in private funding and some of our customer revenue. We've developed all the facilities, all the technologies. We have about 850 people in our California, Los Angeles facility." He emphasised the efficiency of vertical integration in reducing costs and speeding up development. "We can make the next module not only quicker - in two and a half years instead of three - but at a much lower cost because we build everything from the primary structure to a lot of the systems in-house." The competition in the commercial space sector is fierce, with Axiom Space being a notable contender. Axiom plans to link its module to the ISS, but Mr Haot believes VAST Space has an edge. "They started a long time before us, but I think the facts are telling us they're going much slower. Their stated strategy is to launch that module in 2027. If we achieve our goal, we're already at least one year earlier than them." Mr Haot pointed out the strategic advantage of building a free-flyer space station that does not rely on the ISS. "We are building a free flyer, which does not need the ISS and can be standalone, regardless of what happens to the ISS." India is also entering the space station race with plans to launch its first module of the Bhartiya Antariksha Station by 2028. Mr Haot sees potential for collaboration rather than competition. "Absolutely. India might have more interest in training more astronauts before its space station. That could be an interesting discussion - to maybe bring an Indian astronaut to Haven-1."
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
US firm Vast keen to collaborate with ISRO on Bharat Antariksh Station
US-based space habitation company Vast has offered to collaborate with ISRO for the Bharat Antariksh Station that the Indian space agency plans to set up by 2035. Vast CEO Max Haot held discussions with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials earlier this month for a possible collaboration in the field of space technology and offered to host Indian scientists and engineers on the space station his company plans to send to orbit next year. The California-based company plans to launch Haven-1, a single-module space station, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May 2026. With a mission life of three years, Haven-1 is a precursor to Haven-2, which Vast hopes would qualify as a successor to the International Space Station that will be retired in 2031. The International Space Station is a collaborative effort of the US, Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency. China also launched its space station, 'Tiangong', in 2021 and has maintained human presence in space. "Some of the ideas that were being discussed is, you know, maybe we can offer access to our space station but also get access to that space station and share capacity or share size," Haot told PTI here. India plans to launch the first module of the Bharat Antariksh Station in 2028 and complete it by 2035. Live Events "We definitely see a lot of opportunities if obviously India and ISRO welcome it to collaborate, especially (given) that our two countries are politically very friendly," Haot said. "Right now, the other two human spaceflight-capable countries (Russia and China) are not in the same acceptable region for current US politics. So, that creates a unique situation where we might have two human spaceflight-capable countries that can work together," he added. In 2023, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a five-year, unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) with Vast, with the stated purpose of helping the company's "concept maturation and eventual implementation of space station modules". The Haven-1 spacecraft has a 45-metre-cubed volume and is designed to support up to four crew members for missions of an average of two weeks in length. It consists of four crew quarters for sleeping, several mid-deck lockers for science modules, a common area with a deployable table and multiple crew interfaces. "Right now, we are solely focused on the SpaceX offering, but we are interested to hear whether there will be a competitive, reliable, safe option that we can use to bring our customers using the Gaganyaan vehicle to our space station," Haot said.
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First Post
14-05-2025
- Business
- First Post
Will Indian rockets take crew to world's first commercial space station?
Indian rockets could soon carry astronauts to the world's first commercial space station, as the CEO of US-based company Vast said in an interview that they are exploring collaboration with ISRO for crewed missions to their upcoming orbital laboratory. read more US-based space exploration company Vast, which is working on launching the world's first commercial space station, is keen to use Indian rockets for sending crew members to its future space lab, the company's CEO, Max Haot, said in an interview with The Times of India. Speaking to The Times of India, Haot said, 'There is a possibility of using Gaganyaan rockets to transport crew to our space station.' He was recently in India to attend the GLEX-2025 space conference. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Vast is developing a space station called Haven-2, which aims to replace the International Space Station after its planned retirement in 2031. The company currently has over 750 team members. Haot said, 'We want to work with all countries involved in human space missions. India is emerging as a leader in this field, which is exciting. We are open to various collaborations, including technology exchange, within export control limits.' He further said Vast is very impressed with Isro and the Indian government's efforts to develop new capabilities, especially regarding the upcoming Gaganyaan programme and the Axiom-4 mission to the ISS, which will make India the fourth country in the world to achieve the capability to send an astronaut to space. 'We are seeking Nasa's support for the Haven-2 project, which will be managed by Vast. Once operational, this commercial space station will be open to all,' he added. Vast to launch Haven-1 in 2026, Heaven-2 in 2031 Before building Haven-2, California-based Vast plans to launch Haven-1, a small single-module space station, in May 2026 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Haven-1 will offer 45 cubic metres of habitable space and can support up to four crew members for missions lasting around two weeks. The first module of Haven-2, a much larger space station, is scheduled to launch in 2028. Vast aims to make this module operational by 2028 and complete the entire space station by 2032. Haven-2 will cater to both government and commercial users. It will feature nine modules, 500 cubic metres of living space, and generate 86 kilowatts of power. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's space station program can gain from Vast's expertise Isro is preparing to launch its crewed Gaganyaan mission in 2027. If successful, more such missions will follow. While India is also working on its own Bharatiya Antariksh Station, collaboration with Vast on its commercial space station could be beneficial for India, as Isro stands to gain from Vast's expertise in setting up a space station. Vast's mission to build artificial gravity space stations Vast is a US-based private aerospace company headquartered in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Jed McCaleb. The company focuses on developing artificial gravity space stations to support long-term human habitation in space. Vast's first project, Haven-1, is a single-module space station scheduled for launch in 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The station is designed to accommodate four crew members for up to 30 days and will serve as a platform for scientific research and commercial activities in low Earth orbit.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Possibility of using Gaganyaan rockets as transport service for our upcoming space station, says US firm CEO
NEW DELHI: Max Haot , chief executive officer of US-based company Vast , which is planning to launch the world's first commercial space station , has evinced interest in using Indian rockets to transport crew members to its upcoming orbital laboratory. In an interview to TOI , Haot, who recently visited India to attend an international space conference GLEX-2025, said, 'There is a possibility of using Gaganyaan rockets as a transport service for our space station.' The space-habitation company, which has 750+ team members, is in the race to build a space station called Haven-2 that will be the successor to the International Space Station, which will be retired by 2031. The CEO said, 'We want to work with all nations that are engaged in human spaceflight missions and see that India is about to be a leader in human spaceflight, which is really a great thing. We look forward to collaborating with India. We are open to many levels of collaboration. In space stations, we are open to technology exchange within the confines of the export control (regime).' Haot said, 'We are very impressed with Isro and the Indian govt in achieving new capabilities, especially in regard to their upcoming Gaganyaan programme and Axiom-4 mission to the ISS that will make India the fourth country in the world to achieve the capability to send an astronaut to space.' Before Haven-2, the California-based company plans to launch Haven-1, a single-module space station, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May 2026. The Haven-1 spacecraft has a 45-metre-cubed volume and is designed to support up to four crew members for missions of an average of two weeks in length. The first module of Haven-2, a much larger space station, is expected to be launched in 2028. Vast is planning to have the first operational module in 2028 and a fully built and functional space station in 2032. This will be designed for both govt and commercial use. It will have nine modules, 500 cubic metre of habitable volume and 86KW of total power. 'We are seeking Nasa aid for the Haven-2 project, which will be managed by VAST. Once operational, this commercial space station will be open to all.' Isro is going to launch its crewed Gaganyaan mission in 2027 and if the mission is successful, more such crewed missions will be launched to space. Though India is making its own Bharatiya Antariksh Station, the collaboration with VAST for its commercial space station is likely to be beneficial to India as Isro will gain from the company's expertise in setting up a space station.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
US firm Vast eyes Isro's Gaganyaan for crewed missions to its commercial space station: Report
US based firsm Vast's CEO Max Haot (Image Credit: LinkedIn) NEW DELHI: US-based firm Vast , which plans to launch the first commercial space station globally next year, has shown its keen interest in utilising Indian rockets to ferry crew to its orbital facility. Vast's chief executive, Max Haot, met the Indian Space Research Organisation ( Isro ) leadership team on the sidelines of the global space exploration conference in New Delhi to explore potential space technology partnerships. Operation Sindoor Armed forces maintaining strong vigil after Pak ceasefire breach: MEA Pakistan violates ceasefire: Loud explosions, sirens haunt J&K- what we know so far Behind the scenes of ceasefire: Calls from Pakistan, Washington The space-habitation company is in the race to build a space station that will be the successor to the International Space Station, which will be retired by 2031. Haot expresses enthusiasm about India's Gaganyaan initiative, scheduled for human spaceflight by early 2027, and wishes to accommodate science payloads on the station. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "We are interested in flying payloads in science from India. The other interest we have is the possibility of using Gaganyaan rockets as a transport service for our space station," he said in an interview with PTI. Nasa established a five-year, unfunded Space Act Agreement with Vast in 2023, aiming to support the company's "concept maturation and eventual implementation of space station modules". The California company Vast intended to deploy Haven-1 , a single-module space station, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May 2026. "Right now, we are on track with our launch for May 2026," Haot told PTI in an interview. The Haven-1 spacecraft, with 45 cubic metres of space, can accommodate four crew members for typical two-week missions. The facility includes four sleeping quarters, numerous mid-deck storage units for science modules, a shared space with a fold-out table and multiple crew interfaces. "Right now, we are solely focused on the SpaceX offering, but we are interested to hear whether there will be a competitive, reliable, safe option that we can use to bring our customers using the Gaganyaan vehicle to our space station," Haot said. With India's plans for its own space station, Vast welcomes collaboration with Isro regarding Haven facilities. "Space is one of the most amazing collaborative fields in the world. And so, we are extremely open to ideas. Some of the ideas that were being discussed is, you know, maybe we can offer access to our space station but also get access to that (India's) space station and share capacity or share size," Haot said. "We definitely see a lot of opportunities if, obviously, India and the Isro welcome us to collaborate, especially as our two countries are politically very friendly," he said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
