SpaceX rockets the 'Haven Demo' pathfinder module and 17 other satellites into space

On November 2, 2025, SpaceX launched a satellite that could allow the construction of a private space station in the near future. 

At 1:09 a.m. EDT on Sunday, a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, as part of Bandwagon-4, a multi-satellite mission. 

Bandwagon-4 carried 18 payloads to orbit, among them was Haven Demo, an experimental precursor for Haven-1.

Haven-1 is aimed to become the world’s first private space station that Vast Company plans to launch to Earth orbit in 2026.

“The first step in our iterative approach towards building next-generation space stations, Haven Demo will test critical systems for Haven-1, including propulsion, flight computers and navigation software,” said the description of the satellite by Vast.

The precursor will test the critical systems for Haven-1. If everything goes to plan, Haven-1 will be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2026. 

The success of the project would make it the first independent private space station ever. 

More details about Vast Company’s Haven-1 and the other payloads on Falcon 9

According to Vast Company’s roadmap, Haven-1 will be launched into low Earth orbit in 2026. Low Earth orbit or LEO is an “orbit around the Earth with an altitude that lies towards the lower end of the range of possible orbits,” according to Space.com. The majority of satellites are found to be in low Earth orbit.

To secure its place in the LEO, a satellite is expected to travel at around 17,500 miles per hour or 7.8 kilometers per second. 

At the speed, it takes about 90 minutes to complete an orbit of the planet. 

If Vast Company can hold up to its roadmap, then Haven-1, which has the capacity to take on four astronauts at a time, will become the first-ever standalone space station in human history. 

“Haven-1 is a state-of-the-art, human-centric space station, home to an innovation lab for private astronauts and government missions, demonstrating Vast’s operational and technical capabilities,” Vast’s official website said.

Apart from Haven Demo, Falcon 9 also carried 17 other payloads, which will be operated by South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Exolaunch, a Berlin-based company, Turkey's Fergani Space, Tomorrow Companies, and Starcloud. 

Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth according to plan on November 2, 2025, approximately eight minutes after launch.

It touched down at Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone-2. According to SpaceX, the first stage was on its third flight for this booster. 

Falcon 9’s upper stage, which carries the 18 payloads, will deploy them over a time span of an hour. The process will begin 12 minutes after liftoff with the separation of ADD’s Korea 435 satellite. 

Bandwagon-4 was the fourth mission in SpaceX’s Bandwagon series. The company is currently also working on another rideshare program, which has deployed 14 launches so far. 

Falcon 9 made its 140th launch in 2025 with Bandwagon-4. Based on the missions Falcon 9 has been part of, more than 70% of its work has been dedicated to the development of Starlink, which is Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s “broadband megaconstellation.”

Over 10,000 Starlink satellites have been launched by SpaceX. The first Starlink prototype appeared in February 2018. 

SpaceX plans to deploy over 30,000 satellites in the future to provide high-speed internet globally. 

Amazon’s Kuiper project, as well as a few European and Chinese companies, are also competing to launch such satellites. 

Stay tuned for more updates.