French astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Arnaud Prost are scheduled to embark on two separate space missions in 2027, according to an announcement made by the California-based aerospace company Vast on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. These missions will be facilitated through a partnership with the private sector, utilizing SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets for transit.
Arnaud Prost is slated to travel to Haven-1, a commercial space station developed by Vast. Although the project has faced several years of deployment delays, the company expects the station to be operational by 2027. France’s space agency, CNES, has characterized the mission to Haven-1 as a "world-first" for a private space station.
Thomas Pesquet is set to lead a private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking his third trip to the orbital laboratory. If the mission receives final approval from the ISS partner panel—which includes NASA, the European Space Agency, Roscosmos, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency—Pesquet would become the first non-American to command a U.S. space capsule.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the deal on Monday, June 1, 2026, on the sidelines of a Paris conference. Macron stated on X that the agreement "confirms France's space ambitions."
Each mission is expected to last approximately two weeks. The venture represents a significant milestone for Vast, a company founded in 2021 by cryptocurrency billionaire Jed McCaleb. The firm aims to eventually succeed the ISS, which is scheduled to conclude its mission in 2030, with a more robust model known as Haven-2.
The ISS mission remains subject to final regulatory clearance from the station’s international stakeholders. Should it proceed, the command structure will set a new precedent for international cooperation in private space travel.
