Vast to fly Czech astronaut Ales Svoboda to ISS in NASA-awarded mission
ESA signed a deal for Vast to fly Czech astronaut Ales Svoboda to the ISS in 2027 under a NASA-awarded mission.
what happened
The European Space Agency signed an agreement on behalf of the Czech Republic for Vast to fly ESA reserve astronaut Ales Svoboda to the International Space Station, per ESA and Vast. The mission, planned for 2027 using a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9, will be implemented under the first NASA-awarded Private Astronaut Mission to the ISS assigned to Vast, with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet as mission commander. The flight is subject to review and approval by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel.
why it matters
For the Czech Republic, this delivers the country's first-ever ISS astronaut seat and anchors its 2024 Czech Space Journey initiative in a funded flight. For Vast, a company known mainly for building its own Haven-1 station, winning a NASA-awarded private astronaut mission broadens its ISS-related business beyond station development, giving national astronaut programs another operator to work with alongside Axiom Space's existing missions.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Vast
- Category
- human-spaceflight
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 5 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-06-08
- Published
- 2026-07-26 09:45 UTC