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

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 competitionMilitary opportunities and sensitivities in space station useIntegration of Launcher post-acquisitionChallenges and excitement of Haven One's launchVast’s product roadmapAnd much more… • Chapters •00:00 Intro00:53 Jed's career path and creating Vast02:57 Balancing aspirations and making money04:57 Max's history building business and how he came to Vast08:49 Max's primary objective at Vast11:22 Jed's experience building a hardware company12:31 Market opportunity for a free flying space station15:20 Haven 119:17 Building components in house21:07 Materials use and construction safety23:03 Vast's approach vs competitors29:45 Importance of being first in the market31:41 Is the market large enough to sustain multiple station providers?33:25 Common misconceptions of space station investment38:02 Vast x SpaceX partnership40:55 Product roadmap43:22 Coinciding with Starship timelines45:06 Will Starship be converted into a space station?46:10 Fundraising47:09 Economics around Haven 151:37 Military applications53:30 Utilization after acquisition54:13 What excites you and keeps you up at night?• Show notes •Max’s socials — https://twitter.com/maxhaotJed’s socials — https://twitter.com/JedMcCalebMo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislamVast’s website — https://www.vastspace.com/Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspacePathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspacePathfinder 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 Eastern2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece,  comes out on WednesdaysYou can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/