The European Space Agency, on Behalf of the Czech Republic, Signs Agreement with Vast for a Private Astronaut Mission to the International Space Station in Partnership with NASA

The European Space Agency, on Behalf of the Czech Republic, Signs Agreement with Vast for a Private Astronaut Mission to the International Space Station in Partnership with NASA

Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure, is partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA), on behalf of the Czech Republic, to send an astronaut to the International Space Station. This agreement builds on the memorandum of understanding that Vast, and the Czech Republic signed in 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608203652/en/ ESA Reserve Astronaut Aleš Svoboda, photo credit: Michaela Szkanderova.

Subject to Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP) review and approval, Aleš Svoboda, one of the 12 members of the astronaut reserve selected by ESA in November 2022, will serve as the mission pilot. The MCOP's decisions are reached through a consensus among representatives from all five space station partners: NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. Pending approval, Aleš Svoboda will become the first Czech astronaut to visit the International Space Station. Svoboda is planned to join ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet who is the named Commander for the mission.