• Pioneering Space Station Company, Vast, Introduces Experienced Inaugural Lab Partners — Redwire and Yuri — Signaling its Commitment to Comprehensive Payload Opportunities Across Industries and Disciplines

LONG BEACH, Calif. / Aug 01, 2024 / Business Wire / Vast, the pioneering space habitation technology company, whose goal is to build the successor to the International Space Station (ISS), today announced the revolutionary Haven-1 Lab, scheduled to be the world’s first microgravity research, development, and manufacturing platform on a commercial space station. The Haven-1 Lab, set to launch no earlier than the second half of 2025 on Haven-1, will be a hub for companies, governments, and other entities to collaborate on science, research, and in-space manufacturing.

“The ISS may be on its way to be retired in 2030, but the institutional knowledge deserves a new platform for future microgravity research and manufacturing innovation. Our Haven-1 Lab is designed to provide that bridge well before the eventual retirement of ISS. This ensures that as we begin a new era of commercial space stations we can continue and expand upon vital international and commercial science and research in low Earth orbit (LEO),” said Vast CEO, Max Haot.

As low Earth orbit’s premier hub for commercial endeavors in microgravity, Vast’s Haven-1 Lab will allow partners to offer onboard facilities for research and development in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, advanced material manufacturing, biotechnology, scientific experiments, and more. The Haven-1 Lab features 10 Middeck Locker Equivalent payload slots, each roughly the size of a microwave. Each payload slot can weigh up to 30 kg (66 lbs), is provided with 100 W of continuous power, and has access to an Ethernet data connection. Payloads will be operated by the astronaut crew on Haven-1, as well as commanded and monitored by ground operators via Starlink laser links, providing Gigabit/s speed, low latency connectivity. Partners will have the opportunity to return products and samples from space via a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

In tandem with Vast’s announcement of its Haven-1 Lab, the company also announced Redwire and Yuri as its inaugural partners, representing some of the foremost experts in the development of microgravity payloads.

Haot added, “Microgravity experts and industry leaders like Redwire and Yuri need a consistent platform in space for conducting research and expanding cross-sector advancements with the inherent advantages of a crewed environment. We are proud to provide the foundation for that work and honored that they have entrusted us with their proven technology.”

Redwire is the global leader in microgravity research and development technologies, specializing in space biotechnology and pharmaceutical development, spanning more than three decades of human spaceflight heritage. Redwire owns nine payloads and facilities currently installed on the ISS including Redwire’s BioFabrication Facility, which successfully printed the first ever human meniscus and first live human heart tissue in space. Additionally, Redwire has developed a first-of-its-kind pharmaceutical drug development platform—Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization Xperiments (PIL-BOX)—which has flown three flight missions to and from the ISS, demonstrating how microgravity can lead to innovations in drug development.

"Redwire is excited to be a key payload partner for Vast’s Haven-1 Lab as we continue to accelerate momentum in creating a new and dynamic economy in low Earth orbit. Haven-1 is the first private sector platform that Redwire hardware will launch with, extending the legacy of the ISS into a new era of commercial platforms,” said Mike Gold, Chief Growth Officer at Redwire.

Yuri, Vast’s second inaugural payload partner, is renowned for its pioneering efforts in leveraging microgravity to develop groundbreaking biotech products, cures, and medical solutions. This partnership with Vast will enable Yuri to expand its innovative payload opportunities to the global institutional and commercial research community. By utilizing the on-orbit version of ScienceTaxi, Yuri will unlock new scientific discoveries through its superior technical capabilities, such as advanced space microscopy. This initiative will harness the potential of LEO for commercial biotech advancements.

Co-Founder and CEO Maria Birlem emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating, “Now is the time to showcase marked driven commercial collaboration in LEO. As a European partner, we see a tremendous opportunity to significantly increase European utilization of LEO, particularly with Haven-1, due to its simplified access to microgravity for non-US stakeholders. Haven-1 is set to be the first Post-ISS scenario, and the entire world stands to benefit.”

In addition to these inaugural partnerships, Vast is pursuing payload partnerships in a variety of cutting-edge industries, including semiconductor and advanced material manufacturing, edge computing, and machine learning.

Furthering the company’s commitment to foster increased innovation in the payload space, Vast is also offering a unique payload end-user program so that individuals and companies of any size or capacity can join forces with established payload partners to access space in a low-cost manner, conduct independent or joint experiments in microgravity environments, and tap into unlimited opportunities for collaborative growth.

If you would like to become a payload partner or payload end user, please visit vastspace.com/haven-1-lab.

ABOUT REDWIRE

Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW) is a global space infrastructure and innovation company enabling civil, commercial, and national security programs. Redwire’s proven and reliable capabilities include avionics, sensors, power solutions, critical structures, mechanisms, radio frequency systems, platforms, missions, and microgravity payloads. Redwire combines decades of flight heritage and proven experience with an agile and innovative culture. Redwire’s approximately 700 employees working from 14 facilities located throughout the United States and Europe are committed to building a bold future in space for humanity, pushing the envelope of discovery and science while creating a better world on Earth. For more information, please visit redwirespace.com.

ABOUT YURI

Yuri is a space biotech company providing a wide range of space life science infrastructure & payload services and uses the microgravity environment of space to develop and manufacture superior biotech products. Since 2019, Yuri develops 3D printed modular bioreactors and incubators for cell cultures, protein crystals or plants, launching them to the ISS and beyond for scientists & commercial customers around the world. With over 150 labs launched in the company history, Yuri is a key stakeholder in the microgravity life science payload market. For more information, visit yurigravity.com

ABOUT VAST

Vast is a pioneer in space habitation technologies focused on expanding humanity across the solar system. Founded in 2021, the company is building Haven-1, the world’s first private space station slated to launch no earlier than August 2025. Vast is developing their future Haven space station to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program. Vast’s long-term goal is to build low-cost artificial gravity crewed stations so people can live and work in space for long periods without the adverse effects of zero gravity. For more information, please visit vastspace.com.

HAVEN-1 LAB INAUGURAL PAYLOADS

Redwire Corporation

ADSEP4

The Advanced Space Experiment Processor 4 (ADSEP4), developed by Redwire Corporation, is a fully automated, multi-use single middeck locker processing facility used to conduct a variety of life and physical science research and small-batch biotechnology production in microgravity. The ADSEP4 facility can host up to four sample processing cassettes for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. These cassettes, called Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization Xperiments (PIL-BOXs), are launched in the SpaceX Dragon to the Haven-1 space station, where the Vast astronaut crew installs them into ADSEP4. In addition to pharmaceuticals, samples such as stem cells, bacteria, colloids, and many others also can be processed in ADSEP4.

Yuri

ScienceTaxi

ScienceTaxi, designed & manufactured by Yuri, is a groundbreaking life science incubator facility that will enable a wide range of experiments to be conducted in the Haven-1 Lab. The incubator features temperature control, full automation, and real-time data collection, as well as a centrifuge that allows for experiments to be conducted under different gravity conditions, including Earth, Moon, and Mars gravity. ScienceTaxi can accommodate up to 38 experiment units, known as ScienceShells, and will provide scientists with a powerful tool for studying the effects of microgravity on various biological systems. The ScienceShells are highly modular due to its 3D printing manufacturing process. Each ScienceShell can be provided with a microfluidic system and a phase contrast microscope!