This week on Pathfinder, we're joined by Jed McCaleb, Founder, and Max Haot, CEO, the leaders behind Vast, a company pioneering the development of commercial space stations. Jed, a seasoned software entrepreneur, and Max, a veteran in space and internet ventures, bring their unique expertise to the ambitious goal of advancing human habitation in space.

Our conversation covers the critical aspects of creating economically viable space stations, the strategic role of life support systems, and the significance of reducing transportation costs. We also explore:

Space station economics, pros/cons of competition
Military opportunities and sensitivities in space station use
Integration of Launcher post-acquisition
Challenges and excitement of Haven One's launch
Vast’s product roadmap

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 Intro

00:53 Jed's career path and creating Vast

02:57 Balancing aspirations and making money

04:57 Max's history building business and how he came to Vast

08:49 Max's primary objective at Vast

11:22 Jed's experience building a hardware company

12:31 Market opportunity for a free flying space station

15:20 Haven 1

19:17 Building components in house

21:07 Materials use and construction safety

23:03 Vast's approach vs competitors

29:45 Importance of being first in the market

31:41 Is the market large enough to sustain multiple station providers?

33:25 Common misconceptions of space station investment

38:02 Vast x SpaceX partnership

40:55 Product roadmap

43:22 Coinciding with Starship timelines

45:06 Will Starship be converted into a space station?

46:10 Fundraising

47:09 Economics around Haven 1

51:37 Military applications

53:30 Utilization after acquisition

54:13 What excites you and keeps you up at night?

• Show notes •

Max’s socials — https://twitter.com/maxhaot

Jed’s socials — https://twitter.com/JedMcCaleb

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Vast’s website — https://www.vastspace.com/

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays

4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays

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Free-Flying Stations, with Jed McCaleb & Max Haot (Vast)

Valley of Depth