Orbit Fab vs Vast: Stations & habitats (orbital) compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Vast ranks 51 on the Space 100 with a score of 74; Orbit Fab ranks 65 with 70. Orbit Fab is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning and leverage. Vast is ahead on production, technology and firepower. Level on progress. Orbit Fab is based in Lafayette, United States, Vast in Long Beach, United States. Vast: Private, founded 2021. Orbit Fab is named in 111 signals and Vast in 76.

Orbit Fab →

Lafayette, Colorado, United States · Space · Infrastructure / Stations & habitats (orbital) · orbitfab.com

Orbit Fab sells NEST orbital fuel depots to spacecraft operators, enabling in-orbit propellant storage and repeated refueling.

Space 100 · rank 65 · score 70

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment9
Production4
Commercials7
Progress9
Technology6
Positioning8
Firepower4
Leverage10

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Orbit Fab is a private U.S. space-logistics company developing RAFTI refueling interfaces, GRIP docking hardware, depots, and fuel-shuttle architectures for satellite servicing. Its ecosystem reach includes U.S. Space Force, DIU, AFRL, NASA, ESA, the UK Space Agency, Astroscale U.S., Impulse Space, Northrop Grumman, Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and ClearSpace; however, its first commercial or government on-orbit propellant transfer has not yet been demonstrated. In 2025-26 it added ESA/UK-funded ASTRAL work, NASA Gateway fluid-transfer work, Airbus and Thales partnerships, an on-orbit Podracer demonstration, and more than $25 million of Stride-led interim financing, while its original 2025 hydrazine-service target slipped to missions now scheduled for 2027.

Latest signals

  • ClearSpace and Orbit Fab partnered to create an in-space refuelling service.ClearSpace
  • Orbit Fab hired a new CEO and raised funding to transition its satellite-refueling business into operations.SpaceNews
  • Orbit Fab opened its Series B financing round to investors.Orbit Fab

111 signals name Orbit Fab.

Facts, with sources

  • <$25M in disclosed Space-domain revenueOrbit Fab
  • ASTRAL in-orbit experiment to validate RAFTI and GRASP refuelling interfaces by 2028Orbit Fab
  • ASTRAL will perform an in-orbit experiment to validate RAFTI and GRASP refueling interfaces by 2028Orbit Fab

316 facts on file.

Vast →

Long Beach, California, United States · Space · Infrastructure / Stations & habitats (orbital) · Private · founded 2021 · www.vastspace.com

Vast is developing and operating commercial orbital space stations, including Haven-1 and the planned Haven-2, with facilities for astronaut missions, biotech experiments, and plant-growth research.

Space 100 · rank 51 · score 74

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production6
Commercials5
Progress9
Technology8
Positioning6
Firepower10
Leverage4

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Vast is a US commercial-space-station company (founder Jed McCaleb self-funding at multi-hundred-million scale) whose Haven Demo pathfinder succeeded in orbit (November 2025, power-positive) and whose Haven-1 flight structure is complete, with ~800 staff and near-everything in-house. It is the speed play of the station race (concept to orbital pathfinder in about 30 months), still positioned to be the first standalone commercial station, though its launch slipped to no earlier than Q1-2027. Haven-1 will host four crew over a three-year life, with the NASA CLD Phase 2 2026 decision as its existential catalyst. It is pre-revenue.

Latest signals

  • VAST open-sourced EdenLive, a real-time model for rendering detailed game footage.Pandaily
  • Family offices are seeking late-stage exposure to deals involving Zipline, Vast, and Atoms.All-In Podcast
  • Vast establishes Lunar Programs division to support NASA lunar initiativesVia Satellite

76 signals name Vast.

Facts, with sources

  • Haven-1 station launch planned for early 2027SpaceNews
  • Haven-1 station launchSpaceNews
  • Haven-1 station set to launch in early 2027SpaceNews

85 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Orbit Fab or Vast: which is ahead in space?

Vast ranks 51 on the Space 100 with a score of 74; Orbit Fab ranks 65 with 70. Orbit Fab is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning and leverage. Vast is ahead on production, technology and firepower. Level on progress. Orbit Fab is based in Lafayette, United States, Vast in Long Beach, United States. Vast: Private, founded 2021. Orbit Fab is named in 111 signals and Vast in 76.

How do Orbit Fab and Vast compare?

Vast ranks 51 on the Space 100 with a score of 74; Orbit Fab ranks 65 with 70. Orbit Fab is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning and leverage. Vast is ahead on production, technology and firepower. Level on progress. Orbit Fab is based in Lafayette, United States, Vast in Long Beach, United States. Vast: Private, founded 2021. Orbit Fab is named in 111 signals and Vast in 76. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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