Haven-1 is slated to be placed in low-Earth orbit by the SpaceX Falcon rocket next year, and is expected to welcome paying customers on board in 2026 – but a ticket is out of the question for most of us
The world’s first private space station has been compared to a luxury hotel following mock-up images of its interior.
Haven-1 is slated to be placed in low-Earth orbit by the SpaceX Falcon rocket next year, and is expected to welcome paying customers on board in 2026. But unlike the cramp confines of the International Space Station (ISS), this space station boasts a sleek and modern interior – guided by former Apple designer Peter Russell-Clarke.
Created by Californian startup Vast, founded by billionaire and crypto ace Jed McCaleb, the shuttle’s inside will be decked out in ‘fine-grained maple wood’ to create a cozy, home-like environment. Haven-1 has also promised future passengers a good night’s kip with a puffy space duvet that inflates to ‘create an equal pressure up against you’.
The patent-pending sleeping system is said to be around the same size of a queen bed and provides comfort for both side and back sleepers. “Buzz-cut astronaut dudes giggle when they come down to our office and see the sleep system—they’d loved to have had one [on their work-a-day missions],” said Hillary Coe, Vast’s chief design and marketing officer.
Haven-1 will also feature a luxury gym for floating guests still wanting to get in their exercise. It consists of a resistance band system with body and station anchors constructed against the wall, designed for routines targeting bone, muscular and cardiovascular fitness.
The main Common Area is said to measure 24m³, and will serve as a multifunctional hub where crew can eat, exercise, carry out laboratory experiments, as well as relax. There is also deployable tables that can be folded down into the floor when needed, while an observation window allows for out-of-this-world kind of views. Lighting and temperature can be controlled to help with guests’ circadian rhythms, which many astronauts struggle with.
Vast has not revealed how much a trip on Haven-1 will set you back, but the company says they hope that one day ‘anyone can experience space’ not just the mega rich. At the moment, a seat onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft up to this ISS costs a whopping $55 million.
“Of course, in the beginning, you will need to pay to come up and have that experience and there will be a price tag that perhaps most of us won’t be able to afford on day one,” Hilary said according to Wired. “But, over time, as it gets less expensive to put Haven-1’s up in low Earth orbit then access will get wider and wider.”
Would you want a place on Haven-1? Let us know in the comments sectio, not just the mega-n below
