Starlab Space vs Vast
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Starlab Space is developing a continuously crewed commercial space station to replace the ISS, backed by $183M from NASA and grants from the Texas Space Commission;
About
Starlab Space is a commercial space company developing a continuously crewed space station designed to support research, manufacturing, and scientific work in low Earth orbit. The project originated from a partnership among Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin, which was awarded a NASA Space Act Agreement in December 2021. Starlab is intended to serve as a commercial successor to the International Space Station, hosting government, commercial, and academic users conducting microgravity research and in-space manufacturing programs.
Building commercial space stations. Haven Demo flew 3 months in orbit (2025-2026). Haven-1 crew launch May 2026. $500M raised (Mar 2026). Founded 2021 by Jed McCaleb.
About
Vast is a commercial space station company founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, the entrepreneur behind Ripple and Stellar, with a mission to build privately owned and operated habitats in low Earth orbit. As NASA's International Space Station approaches decommissioning, Vast is positioned to provide a successor commercial destination for astronauts, researchers, and private space travelers. The company is building a family of modular space stations designed to serve as research platforms, manufacturing facilities, and eventually long-duration human habitation in orbit — the next phase of human spaceflight infrastructure.\n\nVast's initial product is Haven-1, a single-module commercial space station designed for short-duration crew missions. Haven-1 is scheduled for a crewed launch in May 2026 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, making it the first commercial space station to host astronauts. A demonstration version of the Haven module completed a three-month uncrewed orbital mission between 2025 and 2026, validating the platform's life support, power, and structural systems in orbit. Vast is also developing Haven-2, a larger multi-module station intended for longer-duration research and commercial operations.\n\nVast raised $500M in March 2026, bringing total capitalization to over $500M and enabling the company to accelerate station development and expand its mission manifest. The company has partnered with SpaceX for launch and crew transportation services. Vast is competing with Axiom Space and Blue Origin's Orbital Reef project for the commercial space station market, which NASA is funding through its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD) program as a deliberate strategy to transition human spaceflight from government-owned to commercially operated infrastructure.
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