Jan 18 1998
From The Space Library
The Russian Space Agency announced that the first module of the ISS was completed and ready to ship to the launchpad. Under a contract with Boeing Company, Khrunichev's Moscow factory had designed and built this first module to hold cargo. The new module was similar to two existing modules in the Mir space station. Russia had originally scheduled the module for launch in November 1997, but fell behind in the production of the second unit. Despite the delay, Director General of the Russian Space Agency Yuri N. Koptev emphasized the importance of the day during a news conference: "This event symbolizes the fact that Russia was, is, and shall be a space nation, capable of realizing large-scale projects penetrating into space." The ISS project, a joint effort of Russia, the United States, the European Space Agency (ESA), Canada, and Japan, was especially significant to Russia since the ISS would replace Mir as the only piloted element of Russia's space program.
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