Capitalism in space: The space station startup up Vast yesterday announced that three medical research companies and one university institute have signed preliminary agreements to continue and expand their ISS biological research on Vast’s Haven-1 and Haven-2 space stations.

Vast, the company building next-generation space stations and space infrastructure, announced today memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with UC San Diego’s Sanford Stem Cell Institute, Auxilium Biotechnologies, LambdaVision, and BioOrbit, advancing its network of microgravity research and manufacturing partners. Vast’s network brings together world-class universities, pioneering researchers, and cutting-edge technology providers to shape the future of microgravity research and manufacturing conducted in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Though all four have done pure research on ISS, none have been permitted to produce products there for sale on Earth, due to NASA’s anti-commercial regulations. This will change on the new private stations. For example, LambdaVision has already signed an earlier agreement with the Starlab station to use it to manufacture its artificial retinas for sale. Auxilium meanwhile has already demonstrated on ISS the ability to create implantable medical devices using 3D printing. On Vast’s stations it will be able to expand this work by producing saleable products. BioOrbit in turn will use the Haven stations to begin manufacturing the zero gravity pharmaceuticals it has already tested on ISS.

Below is my updated ranking of the five American space stations presently under development:

• Haven-1 and Haven-2, being built by Vast, with no NASA funds. The company plans to launch its single module Haven-1 demo station in 2027 for a three-year period during which it will be occupied by at least four 2-week-long manned missions, one of which will include a French astronaut. It planned manned mission to ISS in ’28 will also include both a French and Czech astronaut. It has also made preliminary deals with Lithuania, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Japan, the Czech Republic, and the Maldives for possible astronaut flights to Haven-1, as well as four biomedical companies. It has raised more than a billion in cash for this work, and has already tested an unmanned small demo module in orbit.
• Starlab, being built by a consortium led by Voyager Space, Airbus, and Northrop Grumman, with extensive partnership agreements with the European Space Agency, Mitsubishi, and others. Though no construction has yet begun on its NASA-approved design, it has raised $383 million in a public stock offering, the $217.5 million provided by NASA, and an unstated amount from private capital. It has also begun signing up station customers, as well as a number of companies to build the station’s hardware. It also plans a mission to ISS in ’28.
• Axiom, being built by Axiom, has launched four tourist flights to ISS, with the fourth carrying government passengers from India, Hungary, and Poland. A fifth mission is now planned for ’27. The company has now raised $625 million in private investment capital. Thales Alenia in Europe has been building its first two modules, with the first scheduled to launch in 2028. The company has also now established a subsidiary in Europe as well as signed Redwire to build that module’s solar panels.
• Thunderbird, proposed by the startup Max Space. It is building a smaller demo test station to launch in ’27 on a Falcon 9 rocket, and has begun work on its manufacturing facility at Kennedy in Florida. Its management includes one former NASA astronaut and one former member of the Bigelow space station team that built the first private orbiting inflatable modules, Genesis-1, Genesis-2, and BEAM (still operating on ISS).
• Orbital Reef, being built by a consortium led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space. This station looks increasingly dead in the water. Blue Origin has built almost nothing, as seems normal for this company. And while Sierra Space has successfully tested its inflatable modules, including a full scale version, its reputation is soured by its failure in getting its Dream Chaser cargo mini-shuttle launched to ISS.