French President and Greek Prime Minister Announce Astronauts for Vast's Private Astronaut Mission [8:54]

YouTube ^ | September 12, 2026 | Vast

[SunkenCiv]

At the International Space Summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Adrianos Golemis as the third member of Vast's private astronaut mission (PAM) to the International Space Station. 

The leaders were joined by the two other PAM astronauts, Thomas Pesquet of France and Aleš Svoboda of the Czech Republic, as well as Jaroslav Kurfürst, ambassador of the Czech Republic to France, François Jacq, president of CNES, and Vast CEO Max Haot. 

Vast is building next-generation space infrastructure, including Haven-1, scheduled to be the world's first commercial space station when it launches in 2027. 

French President and Greek Prime Minister 
Announce Astronauts for Vast's Private Astronaut Mission | 8:54 
Vast | 21.5K subscribers | 8,562 views | September 12, 2026

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: czechrepublic; france; greece; vast

[SunkenCiv]

Video was recorded on Sept. 9, 2026.

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YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai *may* follow.

[SunkenCiv]

They do make great videos. 🚀🛰️

[Apparatchik]

His country is literally burning to the ground and this what Macron cares about.

[cgbg]

This is a public relations stunt that will keep graphic artists and actors employed.

Governments are masters of deceit. It is what they do best.

[Track9]

The anything but reality stunt. Macron is such a tool.

[SmokingJoe]

Vast Space a privately held American aerospace company

Grok:

Jed McCaleb (founder and executive chairman/board chair) is the primary owner of Vast (also known as Vast Space), a privately held American aerospace company.​
Wikipedia

Vast was founded in 2021 by McCaleb (known for eDonkey, Mt. Gox, Ripple/XRP, and Stellar) in California, with headquarters in Long Beach. He was the sole major financial backer in the early years and has said he was prepared to invest up to $1 billion of his personal fortune into it. Wikipedia and other profiles list him as the owner; he serves as founder, executive chairman (or board chair), and tech fellow after stepping back from the CEO role.​
Wikipedia

Leadership: Max Haot (who joined via Vast's 2023 acquisition of Launcher) is CEO. Other key roles include Alex Hudson as CTO.​
Wikipedia
Funding and shared ownership: As a private company, ownership is not fully public. McCaleb remained the dominant early backer. In March 2026, Vast raised $500 million ($300 million equity + $200 million debt), led by Balerion Space Ventures, with participation from IQT (In-Q-Tel), Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui & Co., MUFG, Nikon, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, Earthrise Ventures, and McCaleb himself. This brought in institutional and other investors as minority stakeholders, but McCaleb continues as the key founder and controlling figure. Total private capital invested is reported around $1 billion or more.​
Ventureatlas

Vast develops commercial space stations (including Haven-1, targeted for launch around 2027, and larger Haven systems aiming toward artificial gravity and potential ISS succession). It remains privately held and venture-backed.

[SmokingJoe]

Yup.
It’s not going to stop the riots looting and burning by crazy Muslims and far left crazies in France.

[Mark17]

His country is literally burning to the ground and this what Macron cares about.

I was rather thinking the same thing. The dude is not wrapped too tight.

[SunkenCiv]

More space access is better than less. The main problem will be that the EU will want to set all the priorities and call all the shots.

[SmokingJoe]

Vast Space a privately held American aerospace company.
Europe is not controlling it.

[SunkenCiv]

So far, but if the EU winds up dominating their funding, it will happen.