IWC Schaffhausen to Become Official Timekeeper for World's First Commercial Space Station
IWC Schaffhausen, the renowned Swiss watchmaker, has partnered with Vast, a California-based space habitation company, to become the official timekeeper for Haven-1, the world's first commercial space station set to launch in 2026. This marks Vast's first brand collaboration, reflecting the growing commercialization opportunities in low-Earth orbit as the International Space Station (ISS) nears retirement in 2031.
Founded by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, who also created Mt. Gox and Ripple, Vast is bankrolled by his fortune estimated north of $2.5 billion. The partnership positions IWC to potentially challenge Omega's dominance as the leading space watch brand. IWC will develop spaceflight-ready watch prototypes to be tested under rigorous conditions at Vast's Long Beach headquarters.
IWC CEO Chris Grainger-Herr emphasized the engineering focus of the collaboration, aiming to push mechanical watchmaking into an environment not designed for it. The watch industry has strong ties with space exploration, including the Omega Speedmaster's lunar landing and Fortis watches accompanying cosmonauts aboard the Mir station. IWC itself has experience building pilot's watches and has previously worked on commercial spaceflight missions like Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn.
Haven-1, Vast's first artificial gravity space station, will host private astronauts and government missions, functioning as both a research lab and manufacturing facility. There is talk of future in-space manufacturing at Haven-1 Lab, which could result in the first watches built in space, further cementing IWC's pioneering role in space watchmaking.
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