Vast and Axiom awarded new private missions to ISS, continue work on commercial space stations

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With NASA awarding back-to-back Private Astronaut Missions to aerospace companies Vast Space and Axiom Space in early 2026, NASA continues to foster and accelerate growth in commercial low-Earth orbit. The new missions are expected to launch in 2027, with NASA and SpaceX partnering with the companies to train, launch, and return four-person crews to and from the International Space Station.

Axiom has already flown four missions to the Station. Axiom-4 launched in June 2025, with former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson commanding the 18-day mission. Vast’s mission will be the company’s first and the first by a company other than Axiom.

Alongside their Private Astronaut Missions (PAM), both companies are building their own commercial space stations, with Vast’s Haven-1 recently completing cleanroom integration ahead of a 2027 launch. The first module of Axiom’s station, which will be assembled at the International Space Station (ISS) and eventually undock to become its own free-flying space station, is anticipated to launch in 2027.

With NASA and its international partners planning to decommission the ISS in 2030, the agency is leveraging commercial companies to build Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD). In 2020, Axiom was awarded a NASA contract to construct its commercial station at the ISS. A year later, NASA awarded Phase 1 CLD funding to Starlab Space’s Starlab, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, and an unnamed station from Northrop Grumman.

Vast Space

NASA and Vast announced the PAM award on Feb. 12 in a joint statement. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman stated, “Private astronaut missions represent more than access to the International Space Station — they create opportunities for new ideas, companies, and capabilities.”

The inclusion of Vast in the PAM program will help the company develop the capabilities required to operate its own space station. As part of the award, Vast will purchase crew consumables, cargo delivery opportunities, and storage from NASA. In return, NASA will purchase the capability of returning scientific samples that must be kept cold during transit.

The 14-day mission to the ISS is expected to launch in the summer of 2027. Vast CEO Max Haot said, “Leveraging the remaining life of the International Space Station with science and research-led commercial crewed missions is a critical part of the transition to commercial space stations.”

Vast’s main goal is to build the world’s first artificial gravity station. First, they intend to launch Haven-1, a single-module space station, atop a Falcon 9 in 2027. Following Haven-1, Vast hopes to secure crucial NASA CLD funding to develop Haven-2, a nine-module station launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and Starship rockets.

Vast is conducting various tests and integration processes on its Haven-1 station in preparation for its eventual launch. On Feb. 9, Vast shared that teams were performing early, iterative human-in-the-loop tests with Vast’s Astronaut Advisor, former NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel. The company shared that full-scale life-support testing for the station is underway in its life-support testing module at its headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Haven Demo, a pathfinder for Haven-1, launched in November 2025 on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 mission. The spacecraft, which utilizes Impulse Space propulsion technology, recently demonstrated a perigee-lowering maneuver. Such a maneuver is vital for the company’s future stations, as it demonstrates the capability to perform a deorbit burn for safe end-of-life operations.

Axiom Space

NASA awarded Axiom its fifth PAM award on Jan. 30, with a launch targeted for January 2027 on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Axiom will propose a four-person crew for the mission, and once approved by NASA and its international partners, the astronauts will train at NASA and SpaceX facilities.

Axiom’s station will be multi-modular, with the company planning to launch the Payload Power Thermal (PPT) module to the ISS first. Once the second module, Hab-1, is in orbit, the two segments will be berthed together to create a self-sustaining station. Following design reviews with NASA, Axiom’s construction and testing partners, Thales Alenia Space, recently began welding and machining the primary structures for the first Axiom module. The company secured $350 million in financing for the station on Feb. 12.

As part of another NASA contract, Axiom is developing the lunar surface spacesuits for the Artemis III mission, the first crewed mission to the Moon’s surface under the Artemis program, which is expected to launch in 2028. Astronauts will wear the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) suits, designed for increased flexibility and greater protection against the harsh lunar environment.

Michael Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian founded Axiom Space in 2016. Suffredini served as the ISS program manager from 2005 to 2015, before leaving NASA to start the company. The founders targeted the growing commercial spaceflight industry, seeing gaps in the existing market. Axiom’s first mission, Axiom-1, launched in 2022 and was the first commercially crewed private spaceflight to the ISS.

(Lead image: Axiom Mission 4 undocks from the ISS. Credit: NASA)

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