Axiom Space and Vast Space Commercial Station Partnerships

In early 2026, NASA formalised its commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) development strategy by maintaining active partnerships with both Axiom Space and Vast Space — the two companies furthest along in developing private orbital stations to replace the International Space Station, which is planned for deorbit in 2030. Axiom Space is developing a multi-modular station beginning with its Payload Power Thermal (PPT) module, initially planned to attach to the ISS before operating independently. Vast Space is developing Haven-1, a single-module commercial station targeted for a 2027 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, and the larger Haven-2 architecture (a nine-module station) on a longer horizon. NASA awarded Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to both companies as part of a multi-vendor strategy designed to prevent monopoly pricing in LEO access after ISS retirement. In 2026, both companies are advancing crew training, hardware fabrication, and launch vehicle integration. Vast's Haven-1 will fly four-person crews on SpaceX Dragon under a commercial mission contract, while Axiom has flown four private astronaut missions to ISS since 2022, establishing operational procedures for commercial crew management. The strategic significance of these partnerships for 2026 is architectural rather than operational. The decisions made now about module design, life-support redundancy, and commercial payload capacity will determine whether a functional commercial LEO ecosystem exists when ISS splashes down. If Haven-1 launches successfully in 2027 and Haven-2 follows by 2030, the transition from government-operated to commercial space station infrastructure will be the most consequential institutional shift in human spaceflight since the Shuttle programme's inception in the 1970s.