Jed McCaleb, known for co-founding Mt. Gox and Ripple, plans to launch Vast’s commercial space station, “Haven-1,” into orbit in 2026 while pursuing a NASA contract.
The entrepreneur who launched Mt. Gox and helped establish Ripple has unveiled more details about his space station startup, Vast, which he hopes will contribute to humanity’s future as a multi-planetary species.
Jed McCaleb told Bloomberg on March 20 that Vast remains on course to deploy its commercial space station, Haven-1, currently under construction, into orbit by May 2026.
A successful launch by McCaleb’s startup could position it to secure a lucrative NASA contract for the ISS replacement, with NASA set to allocate contracts in mid-2026.
If Vast fails to secure the NASA contract, McCaleb risks losing $1 billion, which would leave the commercial future of his space station venture uncertain.
“There are not that many folks who are willing to dedicate the amount of resources and time and risk tolerance that I am,” McCaleb told Bloomberg
Describing McCaleb’s mindset, longtime friend and ex-business partner Sam Yagan calls him a “deliberate risk-taker” with an exceptionally rational way of thinking, adding:
“He’s maybe slightly eccentric in his willingness to take what you and I would see as a lot of risks.”
McCaleb’s plans for interplanetary human expansion closely align with the long-term vision of SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
“It’s super important that people take this leap from where we are today to this potential world where there’s a lot of people living off the Earth,” said McCaleb, who founded Vast in 2021.
Vast is equipping its station with SpaceX-built parts, including a docking adapter for the Dragon capsule and a Starlink-based WiFi system for internet access in space.
To deploy its station and personnel, McCaleb’s firm has contracted SpaceX for launches, while NASA must authorize astronaut transport.
Vast’s deep connections with SpaceX stem from its hiring of key ex-SpaceX personnel, among them Max Haot, who currently serves as CEO and president.
To secure a key NASA contract, Vast must compete with major contenders such as Axiom Space, Voyager Space Holdings, Lockheed Martin, and Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin.
Since prolonged space travel has caused organ damage in ISS crew members, Vast intends to develop artificial gravity by spinning or accelerating its spacecraft to simulate Earth’s environment.
The ISS uses a system that processes wastewater for drinking and reuses carbon dioxide to generate oxygen.
Because of its short-term nature, Haven-1 lacks this feature, but Vast plans to introduce it in Haven-2 by 2028 to accommodate longer crew stays.
Additionally, Haot and McCaleb are ready to experience space travel firsthand.
McCaleb has entered the space sector through an unexpected route. McCaleb’s journey began with eDonkey in the 2000s, but in 2010, he achieved his next major accomplishment by founding Mt. Gox.
He didn’t remain at Mt. Gox for long, as he relinquished most of his ownership in 2011.
Mt. Gox became the top Bitcoin exchange globally, but in 2014, a massive $400 million theft forced it to shut down and declare bankruptcy.
Within months, McCaleb shifted his focus to a fresh project and introduced the XRP crypto token on the Ripple protocol in 2012.
McCaleb held 9% of XRP tokens at the beginning but offloaded most of them after exiting Ripple in 2013 over disputes with other founders.
Between 2014 and 2022, McCaleb liquidated his XRP and Ripple equity, resulting in multi-billion-dollar earnings.
According to CoinGecko, McCaleb’s 2014 creation, the Stellar network—a Ripple protocol fork—features the Stellar token, which now holds an $8.7 billion market cap.
