French astronauts Thomas Pesquet (left) and Arnaud Prost will fly on private Vast missions, one to the ISS and the other to Vast's Haven-1 station. Credit: ESA/N. Fischer and A. Conigli
WASHINGTON — Commercial space station developer Vast has reached an agreement with the French government to fly two French astronauts on its missions, including the first flight to its Haven-1 space station.
Vast announced June 1 an agreement to fly a French astronaut on the company’s first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station and another on the first flight to Haven-1. Both missions, using SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, are scheduled for 2027 and will each last about two weeks.
“This agreement reinforces Vast’s commitment to launch and operate the world’s first commercial space station,” Max Haot, chief executive of Vast, said in a statement. “We are honored that France selected Vast for these historic missions.”
Vast said that veteran European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly on, and command, the company’s ISS mission. Pesquet flew two long-duration missions to the station in 2016 and 2021.
