France will send two astronauts on separate U.S.-run missions in 2027 under a new agreement with Vast, an American “New Space” company, President Emmanuel Macron announced June 1 at the Choose France investment summit.
Under the deal, veteran French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is slated to return to the International Space Station, while Arnaud Prost will fly to Haven-1, the commercial space station Vast is developing. The two men will not fly together.
Each mission is planned to last two weeks and will include scientific experiments as well as public outreach activities, according to the announcement.
Arnaud Prost set to become first French astronaut on a commercial space station
The lesser-known part of the agreement centers on Prost, who is expected to be among the first astronauts to visit Haven-1—what Vast is preparing as the first inhabited commercial space facility.
The destination is new, and so is the profile. Prost came from the world of motorsports before joining the astronaut corps, reflecting a generation trained as private companies rapidly expand access to orbit.
Thomas Pesquet’s third ISS mission follows two previous stays, including a 2021 command
Pesquet’s return to the ISS is the more familiar headline in France. The CNES astronaut has already completed two stays aboard the station, including a stint as commander in 2021.
Pesquet has said he wanted to “add another string to his bow” to prepare for a possible lunar mission. The agreement with Vast creates a third opportunity to fly.
Macron frames the deal as France’s “space ambition” amid the post-ISS scramble
Macron presented the agreement as confirmation of France’s “space ambition.” Beyond the symbolism, the deal reflects a broader shift: with NASA planning to end the ISS program around 2030, national space agencies are racing to secure access to whatever commercial successor emerges.
France does not have its own human spaceflight launch capability, making partnerships essential to maintaining a continuous presence in orbit. Signed at Choose France, the Vast agreement positions France as a customer of new private American infrastructure—similar to arrangements Japan or the United Arab Emirates have negotiated with other operators.
CNES, France’s space agency, remains in the background as the institutional operator.
Two weeks per mission: Vast’s early commercial model for 2027
Both flights are scheduled for 2027. The short, two-week format matches the model Vast has chosen for its first commercial rotations—long enough to conduct experiments, but brief enough to maximize crew turnover and per-seat revenue.
For France, the industrial logic is straightforward: keep human spaceflight expertise active in orbit, diversify partnerships beyond the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos, and establish a foothold on Haven-1 before competition among commercial stations fully shakes out.
