Space travel is getting a luxury upgrade

If the only things holding you back from venturing into low orbit were the lack of wood paneling and fluffy duvet covers, it’s time to start picking out your spacesuit.

Vast, the California space startup founded by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, is working on a space concept worthy of five stars, per Wired. 

Haven-1, the world’s first commercial space station, will enter low-Earth orbit next year with the help of SpaceX’s Falcon rocket. When the first paying customers hop aboard in 2026, they’re in for a treat:

• The space station will have four bookable spots for customers, and trips are expected to average 10 days. 
• Along with four private crew quarters, a common area brings travelers together with a communal table, a resistance band exercise system, and a large central window with a view of Earth. In the next room, there’s a microgravity R&D lab.
• Peter Russell-Clarke, who’s helped design some of Apple’s most famous products, oversaw Haven-1’s interior design, complete with fire-resistant maple wood slats. 
• Temperature and lighting settings will be adjustable, and a patent-pending sleep system uses an inflatable, queen-sized duvet to hold travelers snuggly in place for space slumber. 

Travelers will receive safety training before their flight, but won’t have to do any heavy lifting — or flying.

Up, up, and away

If hitting REM under a space duvet sounds like it would fix all your problems, Vast is already accepting reservation inquiries on its website. 

While the trip’s cost isn’t publicly listed, we can only assume it’s not comparable with your average plane ticket — a 2022 trip to the International Space Station with SpaceX cost $55m a seat.  

But serious space travelers are exactly who Vast has in mind. “This is not like a carnival ride,” the company's chief design and marketing officer told Wired. Noted.