Vast, a company developing artificial gravity space stations, has relocated its corporate headquarters to Long Beach.
Previously located in El Segundo, the startup made the move to a newly built facility in an area becoming known as “Space Beach” for its established pipeline of aerospace talent, proximity to the Port of Long Beach and Long Beach Airport and continued efforts to expand commercial space capabilities in the region, according to a release from Vast.
The new structures, which will house the company’s business operations as well as a manufacturing facility, are in the city’s Globemaster Corridor Specific Plan, which will help align and reimagine the commercial and industrial area, which formerly focused on aviation manufacturing, the company’s release said.
Jed McCaleb, founder and chief executive of Vast, called “Space Beach” the perfect place for the company to call home.
“Our mission is to build the first commercial space station capable of providing artificial gravity to support long-term human habitation,” McCaleb said in a statement. “This new mixed-use facility will enable us to continue to grow our engineering team, expand research and development efforts and begin the installation of production equipment, making our mission that much more of a reality.”
The company’s facility will consist of two buildings for a total of nearly 115,000 square feet. Vast said it projects to have about 700 employees by the end of 2027.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said that innovators, engineers and designers have come to the city to build the next generation of launch vehicles, 3D-printed propulsion systems, satellites and spacecraft destined to send technology to low-earth orbit and beyond to deep space.
“The city’s immediacy to the Port of Long Beach and Airport, including its many assembly plants and hangars, provide the ideal environment for today’s aerospace, satellite and space travel companies to thrive,” Richardson said in a statement. “We are eager to include space habitation technology to that mix with the addition of Vast, which joins the growing list of high-tech businesses that call our city home.”
Richardson introduced the company to city leaders at the State of the City address on Jan. 10.
Vast was founded by McCaleb in 2021 to design and build artificial gravity space stations.
“Vast’s mission is to enable a future where millions of people are living across the solar system,” McCaleb said in a statement from September in a release announcing Vast. “The solar system has an incredible amount of resources. If we had access to those resources, our civilization could grow and thrive while preserving our planet. Once large populations of humans can live in space, we can create the industry and infrastructure needed to access those resources at-scale.”
