LONG BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations, announced today that it has raised $500 million in new funding to advance its mission of enabling humanity to live and work in space long-term. Vast’s strategic roadmap includes low-Earth orbit space stations, future habitats for the Moon and Mars, and crewed systems that will expand the commercial space economy while strengthening partnerships and capabilities in support of national defense objectives.

“This investment underscores the market’s strong conviction in both our strategy and our engineering,” said Max Haot, CEO of Vast. “The low-Earth orbit economy is at a pivotal inflection point, poised for rapid growth. Vast’s Haven stations are engineered to deliver safe, cost-effective access to microgravity research and in-space manufacturing, empowering government and commercial partners to unlock the full commercial promise of this next era for space.”

The financing round was led by Balerion Space Ventures with participation from IQT, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mitsui & Co., Ltd, MUFG, Nikon Corporation (Nikon), Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, and Earthrise Ventures. Jed McCaleb, founder and first investor, also participated in the round. As part of the transaction, Balerion Advisor A.C. Charania, former Chief Technologist for NASA, will join the Vast board.

“With its impressive hardware and expertise, Vast is the only operational commercial space station company to have designed, built, and flown its own spacecraft, Haven Demo, which successfully completed its mission last month. The mission reduced technical risk by testing a myriad of technologies that will be used on Haven-1,” shared Charania of Balerion. “Haven stations will play a critical role in sustaining a continuous human presence in orbit and the LEO economy while providing nations around the world the opportunity to strengthen leadership in space. Vast’s engineering excellence and global vision set them apart.”

As Vast advances its goal is to support continuous crew operations by 2030, the company is working towards its next major milestones. These include the launch of Haven-1 in 2027, conducting the private astronaut mission Vast recently won with NASA, and securing the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations Phase 2 bid to build its proposed successor to the International Space Station. Funded privately to date, Vast has rapidly established itself as a leader in space hardware design, manufacturing, testing, and operations since its founding in 2021. Recent engineering achievements include flying, operating, and deorbiting Haven Demo—an in-orbit testbed to prove out space station technologies—and the current integration of Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station.

“Vast was founded with a long-term vision of billions of people living and thriving in space. Achieving a goal of this magnitude requires deliberate stepping stones, and our strategy of building, testing, and iterating with real hardware is delivering results,” added Jed McCaleb, Vast founder and entrepreneur. “It is exciting to welcome additional investors who recognize Vast’s long-term potential and share our belief in making this vision a reality.”

Vast’s vertically integrated model, which has already delivered a 10X reduction in primary structure manufacturing costs compared to traditional space station programs, increases capability and shortens manufacturing timelines.

To date, more than $1 billion has been invested in Vast’s space stations technologies and facilities—resources that NASA and government partners can leverage to ensure readiness to replace the ISS in 2030. The latest financing includes $300 million in Series A equity and $200 million in debt to support the continued development of Vast’s Haven space stations. The funds will be used to expand facilities, grow the team, and advance the company’s proposed successor to the ISS, Haven-2, designed to ensure continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit for the United States and its allies.

About Vast

Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030.

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.

Contacts

For media inquiries, contact: press@vastspace.com

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