Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning to fly private crew missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in partnership with a California-based start-up, the two companies said on Thursday.
The missions are contingent on approval by NASA and involve the firm Vast, which also aims to launch the world’s first commercial space station as early as next year.
“Enabling payload and crewed missions to the ISS is a key part of Vast’s strategy, allowing us to further our collaboration with NASA and global space agencies,” Vast chief executive officer Max Haot said in a statement, which did not provide a timeline.
Photo: AFP / NASA
SpaceX has previously flown three private missions to the orbital laboratory with Axiom Space and is preparing for a fourth.
The company has also partnered with Polaris, a venture led by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, for two orbital voyages, one of which featured the first spacewalk by non-professional astronauts.
Isaacman has been nominated by US president-elect Donald Trump as the next NASA administrator, reflecting an era of expanding public-private partnerships in space.
“I am excited to work with Vast as they build more opportunities and destinations for more people to travel amongst the stars,” SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said.
Such missions cater to wealthy people and sovereign governments.
The last Axiom mission included astronauts from Italy, Sweden and Turkey, whose seats were sponsored by their respective nations.
Vast, founded in 2021, said it is in discussions with several governments, including the Czech Republic, about missions.
With the ISS set to be decommissioned in 2030, Vast is among several companies competing to build and launch the world’s first commercial space station.
The company plans to launch a mini-station, Haven-1, next year, followed by Haven-2, a larger station designed to fully replace the ISS.
“Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space,” the company said.
Other contenders for the first commercial space station include Axiom Space, Voyager Space in partnership with Airbus and Blue Origin in collaboration with Sierra Space.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS