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The International Space Station is due to retire around 2030, and both companies want to build a commercial successor. Axiom Space will attach its first module to the ISS before flying free, while Vast is building an independent station, Haven-1, with longer-term plans for artificial gravity.
| Metric | Axiom Space | Vast |
|---|---|---|
| Founded[1,5] | 2016 | 2021 |
| Leadership[1,5] | CEO Jonathan Cirtain (president from June 2025, CEO since October 2025) | CEO Max Haot (since Aug 2023); founder Jed McCaleb is chairman |
| Headquarters[1,5] | Houston, TX | Long Beach, CA |
| Private funding on record[1] | $480M raised privately | No private funding figure on record |
| Valuation | Private: no valuation on record | Private: no valuation on record |
| Station Architecture[2,6] | First module attaches to the ISS, then departs as a free-flyer | Independent free-flying station from the start (Haven-1) |
| First Module[2,6] | Payload Power Thermal Module (PPTM): attach to the ISS first, at NASA's request; the Hab One habitat follows | Haven-1: single module, crew of 4, 45 m³ habitable volume (80 m³ pressurized), two-week missions |
| Target Launch (First Module)[3,7] | Early 2028 (PPTM to ISS; slipped from early 2027, Axiom, Jan 12, 2026) | Q1 2027 (Haven-1 on Falcon 9; slipped from August 2025, then May 2026; reaffirmed Sep 18, 2026) |
| Full Station Completion[2,3,5] | Habitat module months after the PPTM; NASA said in Dec 2024 the station could depart the ISS "as early as 2028" | Haven-2: first module planned for 2028, completion planned for 2032 |
| NASA Commercial LEO Destinations[5,10,11] | Not a 2021 CLD Phase 1 awardee; holds NASA's ISS port agreement instead | Not a 2021 CLD Phase 1 awardee; plans to compete in Phase 2 (NASA draft request for proposals, July 2026) |
| ISS Dependency[2] | First module attaches to the ISS before departing | No ISS dependency; fully independent station |
| Private Astronaut Missions[4,9] | Ax-1 (2022), Ax-2 (2023), Ax-3 (2024), Ax-4 (June to July 2025), all to ISS; Ax-5 targeted no earlier than January 2027 (Axiom) | None flown yet; NASA picked Vast for the sixth private ISS mission (no earlier than summer 2027) |
| Hardware Flown[4,8] | Four private astronaut missions on SpaceX Dragon | Haven Demo test satellite: launched Nov 2, 2025, deorbited on schedule Feb 2026 |
| Spacesuit Program[1] | Lunar spacesuit for NASA's Artemis Moon landings | None |
| Launch Provider[4,6] | SpaceX (Dragon for crew) | SpaceX (Falcon 9 for Haven-1, Dragon for crew) |
| Long-Term Plans[2,5] | Axiom Station: PPTM, two habitats, an airlock and a research and manufacturing facility | Haven-2 multi-module station; later a 110 m spinning station for artificial gravity |
Figures as of Sep 4, 2026 (auto-updated daily from company profiles). Information only, not investment advice. Full disclaimer
Axiom Space will attach its first module to the International Space Station. In December 2024 Axiom and NASA changed the order so the Payload, Power, and Thermal Module goes first, allowing it to depart as early as 2028 and become a free-flying Axiom Station; Habitat 1, an airlock, Habitat 2 and a research and manufacturing facility follow in free flight. In January 2026 Axiom's Peggy Whitson put the first module's launch in early 2028.[2,3]
Vast is launching Haven-1 as an independent, single-module station on a SpaceX Falcon 9: 45 m³ of habitable volume (80 m³ pressurized) for a crew of four on two-week missions, flown up on Crew Dragon. As of September 18, 2026 Vast was holding a first-quarter 2027 launch. Its Haven Demo test satellite launched on November 2, 2025 and was deorbited in a controlled reentry in February 2026. Vast bought the rocket startup Launcher in 2023, and plans Haven-2, a multi-module station, followed by a spinning station for artificial gravity.[5,6,7,8]
Axiom Space has flown four private astronaut missions to the ISS (Ax-1 to Ax-4), carrying astronauts from Saudi Arabia, Italy, Turkey, Sweden, India, Poland and Hungary, and NASA ordered a fifth, Ax-5, for no earlier than January 2027. Axiom is also building the spacesuit NASA's astronauts are to wear on the Moon. It has raised more than $1 billion, and NASA awarded it a $140 million contract for early station development.[1,4]
Vast was founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, who remains chairman and its main owner; Max Haot has been CEO since August 2023. Vast did not bid in Phase 1 of NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations program in 2021 and plans to compete in Phase 2. In February 2026 NASA selected Vast for the sixth private astronaut mission to the ISS, no earlier than summer 2027.[5,9]
NASA plans to buy services from commercial stations rather than build an ISS successor. Its 2021 Phase 1 Commercial LEO Destinations agreements went to Blue Origin (Orbital Reef), Nanoracks (Starlab) and Northrop Grumman, not to Axiom or Vast. On July 6, 2026 NASA released a draft request for proposals for Phase 2, under which it could select two or more companies. Axiom is targeting early 2028 for its first module and Vast the first quarter of 2027 for Haven-1.[3,7,10,11]
Track both companies with real-time data on SpaceNexus