Russians Belatedly to Launch Module for Space Station
Russia is finally set to launch the living quarters of the International Space Station two years after it was scheduled to go into orbit, but U.S. space managers said Wednesday the wait was not all bad.
They said the long delay, caused by money problems in the cash-strapped Russian space program, enabled the former Cold War adversaries to share knowledge collected during more than four decades of space exploration.
The Zvezda module, where the space station’s permanent crew will live, is scheduled for launch on July 12 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, Russian space officials said Monday.
“It’s been very constructive for us because we have a rich history of spaceflight and operations, and the Russians have theirs,” said Mark Ferring, NASA’s lead flight director for the space station.
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