Artificial Gravity Space Station

Vast is focused on creating large spinning structure that create a gravity-like pull. 

Credit: Vast Space artist's concept

PARIS – Vast Space, a Southern California startup founded by cryptocurrency billionaire Jed McCaleb, plans to establish an artificial-gravity space station in low Earth orbit.

McCaleb envisions a future where millions of people are living throughout the solar system. Since other companies are helping to reduce launch costs, McCaleb thinks the next important step will be creating large structures where people can live and work in space.

“Earth has finite resources, but out in the solar system, there is an enormous untapped wealth, both in terms of energy and matter, that could support many ‘Earths,'” McCaleb told SpaceNews by email. “Likewise, mankind needs a frontier. 

Every prosperous civilization has had one to push off into – nevertheless, we haven’t had one for some time. Without a frontier, the world becomes a zero-sum game, which is detrimental to the psyche of a civilization. And in terms of the long-term future of humanity, we will need to live off of the Earth eventually.”


McCaleb, whose wealth Forbes pegs at $2.5 billion, initially plans to self-finance Vast’s work.

“I’ve done many software startups and had great success in the crypto world, which gave me enough resources to attempt something ambitious in space,” McCaleb said. “Eventually, we hope to have some form of revenue generation. I’d like Vast to have a usable station in space by that time.”

Over the long term, Vast is likely to seek outside investment. In the near term, though, the company will “focus on the mission and not become beholden to investors,” McCaleb said. “And at some point, we would like to get customers, like NASA or other national programs.”  READ MORE...