Vast Presents the New Large Docking Adapter, Designed for Future Commercial Space Stations

After NASA's Ignition event, companies working on the new commercial space stations thata will replace the International Space Station at the beginning of the 2030s expressed their concerns about the agency's choices that could create further confusion. Among the companies involved is Vast, which is developing the small space station Haven-1, which could be launched in 2027, while the larger and more complex Haven-2 will follow, based on the experience of the first unit.

In recent days, Vast also announced a significant engineering and design innovation: the Large Docking Adapter. This system promises to adapt to large space stations, overcoming the limitations of current solutions and ensuring better livability within the modules. Changing standards in the aerospace field is complicated and will require many tests and great security, but it could lay the groundwork for new environments where crews could feel more comfortable.

Vast and the New Large Docking Adapter

According to reports, this new docking interface will be open-source, allowing for greater dissemination without needing to pay Vast for its use (although the company will also market its own solution to third parties, upon request). As explained, the company believes that future commercial space stations will utilize larger modules and have a greater overall mass compared to the ISS. Furthermore, they will need to be compatible with larger vehicles, particularly SpaceX's Starship.

These new requirements clash with existing hardware, which has its roots at the beginning of the space exploration era and has seen few changes for some components. For this reason, Vast has announced the new Large Docking Adapter, which promises to support greater masses, larger sizes, structural rigidity, with solutions ranging from 2 to over 20 modules.

Its structure allows for docking between structures regardless of the chosen active or passive system. Similar to other docking systems, the soft-capture will be based on "petals", actuators, and locking systems, while the hard-capture will utilize alignment pins, 12 bolts, and sealing gaskets with structurally redundant solutions.

Compared to the International Docking Adapter, the structure should be up to 30 times more rigid. As mentioned above, the sizes will also change drastically. The International Docking Adapter has a useful diameter of 0.8 meters, the Common Berthing Mechanism is 1.6 meters, while the Large Docking Adapter could reach up to 2.9 meters (the external diameter reaches 3.65 meters) with 6.6 m² of usable passage area. If this idea gains traction not only within the Vast ecosystem but also for other commercial space stations such as Orbital Reef and similar, we could witness a significant change in the design of future space outposts, not only in low Earth orbit but also in deep space.