Here’s What the Space Station That Could Replace the ISS Looks Like

NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) has been dominating debased Earth orbit for much than 25 years, lodging groups of astronauts successful the microgravity environment. The orbital lab’s clip successful space, however, volition soon travel to an end, and NASA is looking for a replacement.

California-based institution Vast Space precocious unveiled its plans to instrumentality implicit the coveted spot near down by the ISS, revealing the plan of its Haven-2 abstraction station. The institution is acceptable connected proposing its backstage abstraction presumption for the 2nd signifier of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations programme (CLD), with plans to motorboat the archetypal module of Haven-2 successful 2028, according to Vast.

An illustration of Vast-2’s archetypal module successful space. Credit: Vast

Vast has been moving connected Haven-1, which it plans connected launching successful 2025. The institution claims its single-module Haven-1 volition beryllium the world’s archetypal commercialized abstraction station, susceptible of hosting short-duration missions for up to 4 astronauts astatine a time. But adjacent earlier its archetypal abstraction presumption launches, Vast is eyeing that NASA declaration to physique different 1 arsenic a commercialized successor to the ISS.

“Our absorption this decennary is to triumph the NASA CLD declaration and physique the successor to the [ISS],” Max Haot, Vast CEO, said successful a statement. “To execute this, we volition archetypal show our capableness by gathering and operating the world’s archetypal commercialized abstraction station, Haven-1.”

NASA is readying connected retiring the ISS by 2030, sending it flying done Earth’s ambiance wherever astir of it volition pain up from the vigor of reentry. In 2021, the abstraction bureau created its CLD programme to recreate the occurrence of the ISS, but NASA is nary longer successful the concern of gathering abstraction stations. Instead, it simply wants to beryllium a customer, helping its commercialized partners physique and run a abstraction presumption that NASA tin use.

Should NASA prime Vast to physique Haven-2 arsenic the commercialized replacement for the ISS, the institution plans to motorboat the archetypal module aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2028. With that timeline, determination would beryllium a two-year overlap with the ISS successful orbit. Following the motorboat of the archetypal module, Vast wants to physique and motorboat 3 further modules implicit a two-year period.

An illustration of the 4 modules successful space. Credit: Vast

The program is for the archetypal 4 modules to beryllium docked successful a row, with Vast aiming to motorboat a larger halfway module and 4 further Haven-2 modules betwixt 2030 and 2032, forming a acquainted T-shape successful orbit.

Haven-2 volition diagnostic a laboratory for microgravity probe and in-space manufacturing, arsenic good arsenic a cupola model akin to the 1 recovered connected the ISS, a robotic arm, an airlock to enactment the docking of payloads, and different airlock for spacewalks. Vast besides intends connected dedicating an full module to planetary partners.

Haven-2’s afloat configuration. Credit: Vast

To enactment its abstraction presumption plan successful orbit, Vast volition person to vie against different companies besides moving connected their ain ISS-replacement, including Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman. The institution seems assured successful its ambitious timeline to run Haven-2 wrong the adjacent fewer years, but NASA volition person to beryllium the last judge.

The abstraction bureau is already struggling with the aging abstraction presumption presently successful orbit, with a caller study highlighting the deterioration and teardrop each those years of being exposed to the harsh situation of abstraction person had connected the ISS.