Long Beach-based aerospace startup Vast Inc. in June received a $32.75 million tax credit award to further expand its footprint in the South Bay, adding to its trajectory of steady growth.
As one of the recipients of the $1.3 billion award from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the company will invest $87 million to create 657 new jobs. Founded by Jed McCaleb in 2021, it is known for building artificial gravity modular space stations set to compete for the commercial space domain as the International Space Station draws closer to retirement in 2030.
“When Gov. (Gavin) Newsom visited, he saw firsthand what we already know: Long Beach is leading the next generation of aerospace innovation,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a LinkedIn post following the announcement. “This investment is a major win for Long Beach and for the workers, engineers, manufacturers, and innovators building the future right here in our city.”
Fast growth
Vast is taking strides across international markets. In June, it also landed an agreement with the European Space Agency to send an astronaut to the International Space Station on behalf of the Czech Republic. Its global partnerships further extend to the United Kingdom, France and Lithuania. It also launched a Japan-based subsidiary last year.
The company, like many others in aerospace, is facing increased investor attention as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. – also known as SpaceX – raised $75 billion in its initial public offering last month. In an interview with the Business Journal in March, Vast Chief Executive Max Haot described the impact of the IPO – including the growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation and proposals to build artificial intelligence data centers in space – as “driving a trend” towards “more mass to orbit, more launch, more reusable rockets.”
The heightened demand and attention mean more business for Vast, and it is shaping up to brave the influx. In February, the company had completed a successful demonstration of controlled deorbiting for its Haven-1 testbed, and the primary construction for the space station has already begun.
“We had a key … moment where we are transitioning from government-owned, cost-plus type (contracts) for space and human space flight to really a commercial era,” Haot said. “(The retirement of the International Space Station) creates that opportunity to switch to a commercial alternative that will be lower cost to NASA, to taxpayers around the world, in opening a completely new era of science, research and manufacturing under that umbrella.”
