NASA has already put an expiration date on the International Space Station, with plans to decommission the ISS in 2031. After that, the agency intends to rely on private companies to keep humans living and working in orbit—a shift that’s turning low-Earth orbit into a surprisingly competitive business.
One of the companies hoping to step into that role is Vast, a Long Beach-based startup with roughly 1,000 employees. Vast has largely been bankrolled by Jed McCaleb, the billionaire co-founder of cryptocurrency projects Ripple and Stellar. Now, the company is aiming even higher: building what it hopes will become the world’s first commercial space station.
According to Forbes, which cited a person familiar with the matter, Vast is in talks to raise a $300 million funding round that would value the company at around $2 billion. The round is expected to be led by Balerion Space Ventures, though the source cautioned that negotiations are still ongoing and terms could change.
McCaleb has already made it clear he’s willing to go deep into his own pockets to make this work, previously saying he could invest up to $1 billion of his personal fortune. In October, Vast also disclosed that In-Q-Tel—the venture capital arm backed by the CIA—had made an undisclosed investment and taken on the role of board observer.
Neither Vast nor Balerion Space Ventures commented on the potential funding round.
On the hardware side, Vast plans to launch its first prototype station, Haven-1, in 2026. The company says it will begin sending components of a larger follow-on station, Haven-2, into orbit by 2028. The goal: a private replacement for the ISS once NASA pulls the plug.
Vast isn’t alone in chasing that opportunity. McCaleb joins a growing list of billionaires betting that space stations are the next big infrastructure play. Axiom Space, founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian, is also racing to build a commercial station, though Forbes reported last year that the company was facing challenges getting its plans off the ground. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin—better known for its rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX—has also been quietly working on its own space-station ambitions.
If NASA’s plan holds, whoever wins this race won’t just be building a station. They’ll be building the future address for humans in orbit.
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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk / Breaking Crypto News
