The first module of the ISS successor is set to be completed by 2028.

The decommissioning of the ISS and its sinking in the Pacific Ocean is scheduled for 2030-2031. NASA has apparently decided to tackle this challenging task independently, without the assistance of Russian cargo spacecraft like Progress. SpaceX has been tasked with creating a special ship equipped with sufficient fuel for this purpose.

What comes next? Russia plans to build its own space station, while the United States has concluded that continuing the crewed program in low Earth orbit should now be pursued on a commercial basis. NASA has announced a competition for the best proposal, and recently, the private company VAST presented its alternative to replace the ISS at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan.

The new station is named Haven-2. Its predecessor, Haven-1, is set to be launched into space in 2025 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It will consist of a single module measuring ten meters in length and 3.8 meters in width. Crews will reach it via the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which can remain docked for up to 30 days.

Haven-2 is already a multi-module structure, with each module being five meters longer than Haven-1. For comparison, the dimensions of the Harmony module on the ISS are seven meters long and 4.4 meters in diameter, while the Zarya module measures 12.56 meters by 4.11 meters.

Perhaps the most striking external feature of the new commercial modules is the dome-shaped windows, each over a meter wide. There will also be a large observation area with a diameter of 3.8 meters.

A robotic manipulator arm has been included for the external placement and securing of instruments and other cargo on the module, allowing astronauts to avoid unnecessary spacewalks. Inside the modules, there will be wooden finishes. Interestingly, the interior was designed under the guidance of renowned designer Peter Russell-Clarke, who worked at Apple for 20 years.

The developers of Haven-2 have assured that, if they win the competition and secure a contract in 2026, the first module will be ready for launch within two years. The plan is to send three additional identical modules into orbit afterward. They will first connect in a "string," and then a central node module will arrive to link with them, with the others arranged around it. The station is expected to be operational by the beginning of the next decade.

It should be noted that the project will heavily depend on the timelines for further testing of the super-heavy rocket and the Starship spacecraft, as this space system is responsible for delivering the main module. The others will be launched on Falcon Heavy. The orbital parameters of the future station are not mentioned, but private companies are generally not inclined to experiment in this regard and typically align with the ISS: an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers and an inclination of 51.6 degrees.

Additionally, the showcased interior of the station has already sparked some skepticism from a number of industry observers. The handrails and pockets designed for foot grips differ significantly in construction from those on the ISS. This means that astronauts will need to grip them with both feet to free their hands for work. Moreover, there are fewer of these features, which diminishes the station's convenience.

Furthermore, the concept of the exercise machine shown in the renderings appears odd: it lacks a separate platform with foot grips, unlike the bike ergometer on the ISS. Without such securement, users could easily be thrown off the machine in microgravity even with a slight error, potentially at a speed that could cause injury.

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