French astronauts Pesquet and Prost to fly separate 2027 missions under France-Vast deal
Thomas Pesquet will command a private mission to the ISS while Arnaud Prost will visit the Haven-1 commercial station, both launching on SpaceX hardware under a new agreement announced at the Choose France summit.
Two missions, two destinations
French astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Arnaud Prost will travel to space in 2027 on separate missions under an agreement between France and the California-based company Vast, President Emmanuel Macron announced on 1 June at the Choose France summit in Paris. The deal covers two flights lasting approximately two weeks each, both using SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets and Crew Dragon capsules.
Pesquet will command a private mission to the International Space Station in partnership with NASA. This will be his third stay on the orbital laboratory, where he previously spent more than six months across two missions. French astronaut Sophie Adenot is currently aboard the ISS. The flight is not scheduled to launch before mid-2027 and requires approval from the ISS partner panel, which includes NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency.
If the mission is approved, it would be a major first: no non-American has ever commanded a US capsule.
Arnaud Prost and the Haven-1 station
Prost, a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency who has never flown to space, will serve as test engineer on the first crewed mission to Haven-1, the commercial space station Vast is developing. The station is scheduled for deployment in 2027 after several years of delays. CNES described the mission as a world-first astronaut flight to a private station.
This astronaut mission to a private space station is a world-first.
Vast's commercial ambitions
Founded in 2021 by cryptocurrency billionaire Jed McCaleb, Vast employs around 1,000 people at its Long Beach headquarters. The company aims to build the first commercial space station with Haven-1, a multi-module platform designed to enable advanced microgravity research and production for government, corporate and private clients. Haven-1 is intended to precede a larger station, Haven-2, which Vast hopes will replace the ISS when the 25-year-old laboratory is retired in 2030.
Vast recently completed the flight, operation and deorbiting of Haven Demo, an orbital testbed for validating technologies for the future station. The company also plans to develop habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars.
- Vast founded by Jed McCaleb with the goal of building the first commercial space station.
- France-Vast agreement announced at Choose France summit; Pesquet and Prost named for two missions.
- Haven-1 commercial space station scheduled for deployment after years of delays.
- Pesquet's ISS mission targeted for no earlier than mid-2027, pending partner panel approval.
- Prost's Haven-1 mission expected to fly once the station is operational.
- ISS mission scheduled to end, opening the era of private space stations including Vast's Haven-2.
France's space footprint
With the agreement, France becomes the only European country with three active astronauts, according to CNES. The agency said the deal demonstrates international recognition of French expertise in human spaceflight, both in astronaut training and in mission preparation and execution. Vast also committed to establishing its European headquarters in Paris as part of the broader partnership announced at the summit.
This confirms France's space ambitions.
Launch and approval timeline
Both missions will use SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets and Crew Dragon vehicles, currently the only American hardware certified to transport astronauts to the ISS. Pesquet's ISS mission is targeted for no earlier than summer 2027, pending approval by the station's multilateral operations committee. Prost's Haven-1 flight depends on the station's deployment schedule, which Vast says will occur in 2027 after previous delays.
