NASA has selected Los Angeles–based Vast to carry out a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in summer 2027, marking the company’s first flight to the orbital laboratory.
The mission, designated as NASA’s sixth private astronaut mission to the ISS, will transport a crew for an approximately two-week stay aboard the station. Previous private missions have all been conducted by Axiom Space, which, like Vast, is developing a commercial space station intended to succeed the ISS.
NASA began its private astronaut program in 2021 when it awarded the first mission contract to Axiom. The Houston-based company subsequently flew the first four missions without competition, as it was the only commercial low Earth orbit destination (CLD) developer capable of conducting crewed ISS flights at the time.
Competition increased in 2024 when Vast Chief Executive Max Haot announced plans to bid for Missions Five and Six. Axiom confirmed in January that it had secured the fifth mission, leaving the sixth open to other providers.
NASA is expected to award contracts later this year for Phase 2 of its CLD program, which aims to support the development of commercial stations to replace the ISS after its planned retirement. If the current schedule holds, both the fifth and sixth private astronaut missions are slated to fly in 2027.
Although Axiom remains the only company with prior experience managing private crewed ISS missions, NASA’s decision to award a mission to Vast signals a broadening of participation in commercial human spaceflight.
