The Company That Wants To Build America’s Next Space Station May Have A China Problem

A massive aerospace company aggressively vying to build the successor to the International Space Station could be undermined by its cozy stance toward China, our main competitor in space.

The California-based Vast is one of several companies competing for the NASA contract to fund the private-sector successor to the International Space Station ahead of its planned retirement in 2030. Vast, however, has key business ventures that align it with the Chinese Communist Party.

In February 2024, Vast partnered with satellite communication firm Addvalue Technologies to supply communications systems for a precursor to its proposed ISS successor. Addvalue operates inside China through a wholly owned Beijing subsidiary, Zhongxin Chuangzhi Technologies (Beijing) Ltd, and lists an office inside the capital city.

That subsidiary has deep ties to the Chinese Communist government, supplying CCP-aligned companies with communications technology for years. The subsidiary signed a lucrative contract to supply thousands of vessel-monitoring terminals to licensed satellite distributor CTTC-Shanghai. CTTC Shanghai’s parent company, the China Transport Telecommunication and Information Center, is an arm of the CCP’s Ministry of Transport.

A former Trump administration national security official told The Daily Wire that this is “not just another procurement.”

“The U.S. should not entrust taxpayer-funded, national security-sensitive space infrastructure to Vast while serious questions remain about the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” the national security official said. “A commercial space station is not just another procurement, it is a strategic asset with direct implications for American technological leadership and national security. Washington must ensure that any company seeking federal contracts is independent of foreign influence, control, or leverage.”

Another obstacle to its procurement is its posture towards President Donald Trump. Garret Reisman, a former NASA astronaut and Vast’s astronaut advisor, said in an Instagram video endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris that he would like to “punch Trump in the face.” The post drew likes from multiple Vast employees.

Vast founder and crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, who continues to serve as the company’s primary financial backer, gave $500,000 to We Deserve Better, a super PAC that backed the Democrat presidential campaign for Dean Phillips, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Top employees also aligned themselves with Eileen Gu, the American-born Olympic star who opted to abandon the U.S. team and instead represent Team China in the Winter Olympics.

Drew Feustel, Vast’s lead astronaut and former NASA acting chief astronaut, and chief design and Marketing Officer Hillary Coe liked an Instagram post from Eileen Gu — the American-born Olympic star who opted to abandon the U.S. Olympic Ski and Snowboarding team and instead represent Team China in the Winter Olympics. Gu has never publicly acknowledged or condemned the CCP’s human rights abuses, including its treatment of Uyghur muslims.

The aerospace company has also fully embraced DEI and other leftist tropes in official proceedings. In a 2024 filing with the Biden Federal Communications Commission, Vast urged regulators to move away from gendered language like “manned spacecraft,” writing that such language is “misaligned with recent FCC proceedings that have sought approaches that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”

Vast is seen as a serious contender for the contract to replace the space station. NASA is expected to finalize the Phase 2 contract in the coming months. China’s Tiangong space station will be the only permanent station in orbit if no American station is ready when the ISS is retired.

Vast did not respond to a request for comment.