WASHINGTON — Commercial space station developer Vast Space says it plans to bid on two future NASA private astronaut missions to the International Space Station, providing competition to Axiom Space.
During a panel discussion at the Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Conference Feb. 21, Max Haot, chief executive of Vast, said his company would bid on the fifth and sixth private astronaut missions, or PAMs, that NASA offers to companies seeking to flying commercial missions to the ISS.
“From our point of view, it will make us a better space station builder, a better partner of NASA, and it will help us practice a lot of the disciplines we are building” for its future commercial stations, he said of Vast’s plan to bid on the missions.
Axiom has been the only company selected by NASA for private missions to the station under a policy the agency rolled out in 2019. The company flew its Ax-1 mission to the station in April 2022, Ax-2 in May 2023 and the Ax-3 mission that concluded Feb. 9. NASA selected Axiom for a fourth PAM, Ax-4, scheduled for this fall. The company has previously expressed interest in bidding on future PAM opportunities.
Axiom has been selected for most of those PAM opportunities with little or no competition. In a January 2023 source selection statement, NASA stated that it received proposals only from Axiom for the third and fourth PAM opportunities, which became Ax-3 and Ax-4. Axiom was previously identified as the sole bidder for the second PAM, Ax-2.
Axiom says those missions have helped the company prepare for its commercial space station, beginning with modules it will install on the ISS starting in 2026. “The private astronaut missions are really this incredible learning opportunity both for the federal government and for Axiom,” said Jared Stout, vice president and chief of staff for government and external relations at Axiom, on the panel. “We learn how to operate these…
Read the full article here
