This is an artist's depiction of the ISS before the Zvezda docking. The Unity is on the right and the Zarya is on the left.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Let's Get on with the Show!
News story originally written on July 26, 2000
Finally! Two years of frustration and disappointment was overshadowed by the docking
of Russia's Zvezda module to the International Space Station. The module was flying
alone for two weeks while being tested. At speeds over 17,000 miles per hour, Zvezda
joined with the other two pieces of the station.
Scientists around the world applauded as the biggest hurdle yet faced by the ISS
was over. The Zvezda module is 43 feet long. It will serve as the sleeping and dining area
for the crew, the main power source for the station, as well as a small laboratory. The first crew will visit the ISS in November.
"The International Space Station has nearly doubled in size in just a few moments,"
NASA spokesman Rob Navias added from Houston.
Zvezda joins the U.S. Unity and the Russian Zarya in space. Zarya was the temporary
power source and will now serve as a passageway. The Unity is the docking port for future missions.
The main laboratory will be launched in January.
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