Agreement between France and Vast: an astronaut will fly on a private mission to the ISS, another to the Haven-1 space station

In recent weeks, ASI and NASA had announced an agreement to use the MPH module as part of the permanent lunar base of the Artemis program (thus giving an Italian astronaut the opportunity to be on lunar soil before two colleagues, a German and a French). Now, France has also decided to act at the nation level, not through the ESA, but this time the goal is low Earth orbit (LEO) with a dual agreement.

According to reports in recent hours, Vast will open its European headquarters in Paris and will send two French astronauts into space with two different private missions. In particular, one will be aboard the sixth private mission to the International Space Station, while the second will fly towards the commercial space station Haven-1, which is expected to be launched in 2027. This agreement opens new scenarios both in terms of public-private collaboration and also in terms of cohesion issues at the European level.

Max Haot (CEO of Vast) stated, "We thank France, but also CNES, ESA, and NASA for their partnership and leadership in advancing human spaceflight. This agreement strengthens Vast's commitment to launch and operate the world's first commercial space station. We are honored that France has chosen Vast for these historic missions."

Vast and France forge new agreements for Space

According to the official announcement, Thomas Pesquet (ESA astronaut) has been appointed commander of the private mission with Vast directed towards the International Space Station, in collaboration with NASA. This mission is expected to launch no earlier than summer 2027 and will have other astronauts onboard, complementing the Ax missions of Axiom Space.

Arnaud Prost (ESA reserve astronaut) will instead serve as a test engineer on the first crewed mission directed toward the commercial space station Haven-1. This mission will test the life support systems and operations of the new orbiting outpost.

Both the mission of Pesquet and Prost are expected to last about two weeks and are scheduled for next year, as mentioned above. SpaceX will provide the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the operations. Further details will be released in September at the International Space Summit with the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron.