The European Space Agency has signed an agreement with space company Vast to implement an astronaut mission to the International Space Station on behalf of the Czech Republic.
The flight is planned for 2027 and would form part of a private astronaut mission to the ISS that NASA awarded to Vast, according to ESA. Transportation is planned via SpaceX, using a Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket.
ESA said the mission remains subject to review and approval by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP), a decision-making body comprising representatives from the five ISS partners: NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
Subject to MCOP approval, Aleš Svoboda—one of 12 members of ESA’s astronaut reserve selected in November 2022—will serve as the mission’s pilot. ESA said that if approved, Svoboda would become the first Czech astronaut to visit the ISS. ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is named as commander for the Vast mission.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said the agreement reflects a model in which ESA enables member states to participate in human spaceflight through commercial partnerships, and said ESA supported NASA’s effort to enable commercial activity related to the mission.
Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s Director for Human and Robotic Exploration, said ESA is working with the Czech Republic to provide expertise in human spaceflight, adding that the mission is intended to support technological and scientific expertise in the country.
ESA said Svoboda has completed Astronaut Reserve Training at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and would begin mission-specific training for the ISS if MCOP approval is granted.
Czech officials linked the mission to broader national objectives. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček said space technologies influence sectors including telecommunications and cybersecurity, and described the mission as an investment in future technological capabilities, science, industry and education.
Jaromír Zůna, Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, said participation by a Czech pilot and ESA reserve astronaut reflected the country’s readiness, and framed the mission as an investment in the country’s future.
Vast CEO Max Haot said the company would work with ESA and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade on the mission. Václav Kobera, Director of the New Technologies and Czech Space Agency at the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and Head of Delegation of the Czech Republic to ESA, said Czech research institutions, universities and companies would gain experience and opportunities through the mission.
ESA said the Czech Republic would draw on the agency’s experience in mission and payload preparation, implementing scientific experiments in a microgravity environment, and post-flight rehabilitation.
