Vast delays launch of Haven-1 space module to May 2026
Haven-1 with docked Dragon capsule
The space station startup Vast yesterday announced that it had revised its overall schedule, delaying the launch of its Haven-1 space module from August 2025 to May 2026.
Based on their testing program this delay had become increasingly expected. They have only now begu testing of the primary structure qualification article of this module, with it passing its first pressure tests. Vibration testing is still to come. This makes the August 2025 target date impossible.
The plan now is to begin construction of the actual module as soon as this testing is complete in about a month, with the primary structure ready in July. Integration and testing will then follow to be completed by March 2026.
The launch of Haven-1 on a Falcon 9 rocket is now targeting May 2026, with its 30-day four-person crewed mission to launch no earlier than the end of June 2026.
As the company notes,
Vast was founded in 2021. At the time, NASA had already launched the CLD program and awarded funding to [three] other [space station] companies. Recognizing the need for a leapfrog strategy, we developed Haven-1 to set us apart. When NASA selects its partner(s) to carry forward its low-Earth orbit (LEO) legacy, we will be the only company operating a crewed space station—one we designed, built, tested, and verified for safety entirely in-house.
…Every lesson learned from Haven-1 will be applied to our CLD Phase II proposal—Haven-2. No team will have more operational experience than Vast. No design will carry as much flight heritage. No company will be better positioned to deliver for NASA as fast—thanks to our work and over $1 billion investment in Haven-1 ahead of CLD Phase II.
This strategy all depends of course on getting Haven-1 launched as planned. Based on the company’s operations so far, the odds appear high that it will meet this new schedule. There are no guarantees however.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Haven-1 with docked Dragon capsule
The space station startup Vast yesterday announced that it had revised its overall schedule, delaying the launch of its Haven-1 space module from August 2025 to May 2026.
Based on their testing program this delay had become increasingly expected. They have only now begu testing of the primary structure qualification article of this module, with it passing its first pressure tests. Vibration testing is still to come. This makes the August 2025 target date impossible.
The plan now is to begin construction of the actual module as soon as this testing is complete in about a month, with the primary structure ready in July. Integration and testing will then follow to be completed by March 2026.
The launch of Haven-1 on a Falcon 9 rocket is now targeting May 2026, with its 30-day four-person crewed mission to launch no earlier than the end of June 2026.
As the company notes,
Vast was founded in 2021. At the time, NASA had already launched the CLD program and awarded funding to [three] other [space station] companies. Recognizing the need for a leapfrog strategy, we developed Haven-1 to set us apart. When NASA selects its partner(s) to carry forward its low-Earth orbit (LEO) legacy, we will be the only company operating a crewed space station—one we designed, built, tested, and verified for safety entirely in-house.
…Every lesson learned from Haven-1 will be applied to our CLD Phase II proposal—Haven-2. No team will have more operational experience than Vast. No design will carry as much flight heritage. No company will be better positioned to deliver for NASA as fast—thanks to our work and over $1 billion investment in Haven-1 ahead of CLD Phase II.
This strategy all depends of course on getting Haven-1 launched as planned. Based on the company’s operations so far, the odds appear high that it will meet this new schedule. There are no guarantees however.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
That was a very informative press release. It gives details that I have not seen before.
They chose to not use their qualification unit as their flight unit. Using it was the only way they could have intended to launch this summer. Building a different flight unit is the reason for the nine month slip in launch date. It is not clear why they chose to not fly the qualification unit, but it is now clear that the August launch date was for the qualification unit to fly.
I can think of two reasons for this decision: First, they found some issue that makes the safety risk unacceptably high and are correcting it on the flight unit. Second, potential customers want some changes that cannot be accommodated within the current qualification unit.
I think that the most likely reason for their change in plans is one of the reasons that I have not thought of.
From the press release:
I’ll say. It is an ambitious timeline. When I was building geostationary communication satellites, we were trying to become more competitive by getting the process from contract signature to launch to be below thirty months, and we were using established and flown designs for the core of the satellite. Vast is trying to design, develop, and launch a new operational space station module in only thirty-six months. The schedule presented in the press release is as aggressive as advertised, especially for development. You have my permission to be impressed.
It is clear to me that they have designed the manufacturing and verification processes while designing the unit. A few decades ago this was called “concurrent engineering,” getting all the departments together during the design phase, like a holistic design method. Blue Origin did not do this, and it took them a few years to get their BE-4 engine production rate up to speed, delaying two of America’s important rockets and allowing the Falcons to launch payloads that could have gone to New Glenn and Vulcan.
Like SpaceX, Vast is vertically integrated.*
________________
* In business, “vertically integrated” means that most or all of the manufacturing or processes occur within the company. “Horizontally integrated” means that many, most, or all of the parts come from vendors. A major advantage of vertical integration is control over the difficult to obtain materials and over the manufacturing. SpaceX is vertically integrated, making its own engines as well as rocket fuselages. A major advantage of horizontal integration is saving the cost of developing existing hardware or methods, avoiding “reinventing the wheel.” Many heritage rocket companies buy their engines and electronics from other companies but often make their own fuselages.
In the space launch business, “vertical integration” means that the launch vehicle is vertical when assembled or when the payload is mounted to the vehicle. The Saturn V was assembled this way, and the Apollo spacecraft was mounted vertically, which is why the VAB at Kennedy was originally called the Vertical Assembly Building. The U.S. government has traditionally preferred this vertical assembly method, and this is how SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy are fabricated, transported, stacked and loaded with payload. “Horizontal integration” means that the vehicle is assembled on its side and the payload is mounted while the vehicle is horizontal, then the launch vehicle with the payload and fairings is lifted to vertical at the launch pad. Russia and Europe have traditionally done it this way, and the Falcons do it this way.
Edward: You might be aware of this already, but many of the people involved in Vast are former SpaceX employees. The company has very clearly adopted the same development and manufacturing philosophies.
SpaceX employees do seem to be getting around the rest of the space business. I think that is a good thing, as Vast is showing us. SpaceX seems to be a good training ground for the future of the space industry, and if they can train even more people in rapid development and other philosophies that are coming out of that company, then that is even better.
Edward,
I think what happened was just that the qualification unit took longer to build than Vast expected. I think they had been hoping to do this testing last year.