Vast to fly four private astronauts to the ISS in 2027, signaling a new era of the orbital economy

NASA selected Long Beach-based Vast to conduct the sixth private astronaut flight to the ISS, planned no earlier than summer 2027 with four crewmembers. The mission exemplifies NASA’s push to shift low‑Earth‑orbit operations to private partners as it moves toward a private, multi‑vendor orbital economy featuring Haven-1 and Haven-2 stations, with Axiom Space planning the fifth private flight in early 2027 and other players pursuing private outposts in LEO.