A California aerospace company competing for the contract to replace the International Space Station has deep business ties to the Chinese Communist Party — and its leadership openly mocked President Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign.
Vast, one of several firms vying for the NASA contract to build America’s next orbital station before the ISS retires in 2030, partnered with satellite firm Addvalue Technologies in February 2024 to supply communications systems. The partnership, which was announced to provide crucial communications infrastructure for Vast’s proposed space station, places the company in direct business relationships with entities operating under Chinese government oversight. Addvalue operates inside China through a wholly owned Beijing subsidiary, Zhongxin Chuangzhi Technologies (Beijing) Ltd.
That subsidiary has supplied CCP-aligned companies with communications technology for years. It signed a lucrative contract to provide thousands of vessel-monitoring terminals to CTTC-Shanghai, a licensed satellite distributor. CTTC Shanghai’s parent company, the China Transport Telecommunication and Information Center, is an arm of the CCP’s Ministry of Transport. These connections raise concerns among national security experts about the potential for foreign influence or access to sensitive American space technology at a time when U.S.-China strategic competition extends increasingly into the space domain.
“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.”
A former Trump administration national security official told The Daily Wire that 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,” the official said. The official emphasized that the replacement for the International Space Station will serve as a critical platform for research, national defense applications, and maintaining American preeminence in low Earth orbit.
The concerns about Vast’s business relationships come as Congress and federal agencies have heightened scrutiny of Chinese involvement in sensitive American technology sectors. Similar concerns have led to restrictions on Chinese participation in telecommunications, semiconductor manufacturing, and other strategic industries.
Vast’s political posture raises additional red flags. Garret Reisman, a former NASA astronaut serving as Vast’s astronaut advisor, said in an Instagram video endorsing Kamala Harris that he would like to “punch Trump in the face.” The post drew likes from multiple Vast employees. Such public political statements by senior company representatives have drawn attention to the overall political alignment of the firm’s leadership team.
Vast founder and crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb — the company’s primary financial backer — gave $500,000 to We Deserve Better, a super PAC that backed Democrat presidential candidate Dean Phillips, according to Federal Election Commission filings. McCaleb made his fortune as a co-founder of Ripple and through early involvement in cryptocurrency ventures before pivoting to commercial space ventures.
Top Vast employees also aligned themselves with Eileen Gu, the American-born Olympic skier who abandoned Team USA to compete for 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 both liked an Instagram post from Gu — who has never publicly acknowledged or condemned the CCP’s human rights abuses, including its treatment of Uyghur Muslims. The social media activity, while seemingly trivial, has been interpreted by critics as indicative of the company culture’s stance toward China at a time when the Beijing government is America’s primary strategic competitor in space.
The aerospace company has fully embraced DEI and leftist language in official proceedings. In a 2024 filing with the 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.” The filing represented one of the few instances where a commercial space company has made explicit DEI-related recommendations in federal regulatory filings.
Vast is seen as a serious contender for the contract. NASA is expected to finalize the Phase 2 contract in the coming months. The competition includes other major aerospace firms, but Vast has positioned itself as an innovative newcomer capable of delivering cost-effective solutions for maintaining continuous American presence in low Earth orbit.
The stakes for the contract are significant. If no American station is ready when the ISS retires, China’s Tiangong space station will be the only permanent station in orbit. Such an outcome would represent a major shift in the balance of power in space, potentially ceding American leadership in human spaceflight to Beijing for the first time in decades.
Vast did not respond to a request for comment.
