Vast Reveals Custom Flight Suit and Certified Timepiece for Haven-1 Commercial Space Station Crew

Commercial space company Vast has unveiled a custom two-piece Astronaut Flight Suit designed specifically for crew aboard Haven-1, its planned commercial space station, marking the first purpose-built flight uniform for the commercial spaceflight era. The company also certified a modified IWC Schaffhausen wristwatch for use in microgravity, priced at $28,200 at retail.

The Details

Vast revealed the suit on April 24, 2026, describing it as a modular design that can be worn as a full-length one-piece jumpsuit or as separates — a jacket paired with pants. According to Ars Technica and collectSPACE, the suit features multiple pockets and Velcro attachments to keep tools and equipment accessible in the weightless environment aboard Haven-1.

Each suit will be custom-tailored to its wearer, according to the same sources. Crew members will receive mission patches and individually earned Vast 'wings,' both sewn into the garment. The detail reflects a deliberate effort to reintroduce a sense of uniform identity to commercial spaceflight, which has largely done without one.

Former NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, who logged 225 days in space, serves as Vast's lead astronaut and contributed directly to the suit's design, Ars Technica and collectSPACE reported. Former NASA astronaut Megan McArthur also advised on the design. McArthur pointed to the practical constraints of operating in microgravity as a driving concern. "In microgravity, you need your hands free and your tools always within reach," she said, as quoted by PayloadSpace and collectSPACE. "You're constantly moving through small spaces and positioning your body in ways we don't experience on Earth."

Feustel framed the suit as both a functional and symbolic step. "We wanted to honor the tradition and history of aviation in human spaceflight and flight suits themselves," he said, according to Ars Technica. He added, as reported by Ars Technica and collectSPACE: "This is the flight suit for the commercial, crewed spaceflight era, and it's really just the beginning."

Alongside the suit, Vast announced it has certified the IWC Schaffhausen Pilot's Venturer Vertical Drive wristwatch for use aboard Haven-1, according to Ars Technica. The standard version of the watch uses a crown to adjust settings, but Vast's certified version replaces the crown with a rotating bezel designed to function while wearing gloves. The watch retails for $28,200 and is available to any buyer regardless of space travel plans, according to collectSPACE and IWC.

Vast CEO Max Haot acknowledged the suit is an evolving product. "Like everything at Vast, it will probably iterate as we fly and as we get customers," Haot told PayloadSpace. "But we're really excited to unveil the first version of it."

Context

The design follows a decades-long gap in dedicated US astronaut workwear. According to Ars Technica and collectSPACE, the flight suit tradition in US spaceflight traces to the Mercury 7 astronauts' iconic 1961 photograph in front of an F-106 jet, which prompted NASA to adopt a consistent uniform look for its crews.

That tradition faded after Apollo, when missions first allowed astronauts to remove bulky pressure suits for a shirt-sleeve environment. Apollo crews wore fire-resistant glass fiber jackets and trousers, Ars Technica reported. On the International Space Station, the approach grew more informal still: US crews shifted to polo shirts and slacks from the shuttle era, with NASA eventually sourcing Cabela's hiker pants for ISS duty, according to Ars Technica.

Feustel explained the reasoning behind that shift — and why Vast is moving in a different direction. "Over the last two decades on the International Space Station, astronauts have moved away from wearing flight suits every day," he said, according to collectSPACE. "The environment has become safer and more like how we work on Earth."

Haven-1 is scheduled to be the world's first commercial space station, according to Ars Technica and PayloadSpace. Vast's investment in a branded, functional crew uniform signals an intent to shape how commercial human spaceflight looks and operates from the outset.

What's Next

Haven-1 is in active development and has not yet launched. Vast has not announced a crew launch date in the sourced record for this article.

Feustel indicated the suit will evolve with operational experience. "Like everything at Vast, it will probably iterate as we fly and as we get customers," Haot told PayloadSpace, indicating that the current version is a starting point rather than a finished product.