The lift-off, originally scheduled for April 1999, was delayed a number of times because of Russian financial problems, and because of two accidents in July and October 1999 at the Central Asian launching pad.

A Proton-K rocket will launch the service module to dock with the 16-nation space station, the Russian space agency said.

Zvezda, 13 meters (43 feet) long and weighing 19 tonnes, is scheduled to lift off at 0453 GMT on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The 320-million-dollar (335-million-euro) module will provide the living and working quarters for ISS crews. The module was financed almost entirely by the Russians.

But the US fast food giant Pizza Hut is alleviating some of the financial difficulties in return for having its logo emblazoned on the side of the launcher rocket.

The publicity stunt is reportedly costing Pizza Hut one million dollars, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. The space agency refused to confirm the sum.

A large part of the money will go towards expanding the Khrunichev center, which helps build the launchers.

After the two accidents involving the Proton rocket, the former Soviet republic closed the launch pad for a number of months. Russia has rented the Baikonur Cosmodrome from the Central Asian republic since 1994.

Kazakhstan accused Moscow of causing environmental damage to its territory, and did not lift the launch ban until February 2000.

"We've test launched the Proton rocket three times since June 23," Sergei Chaievich, a representative of the Khrunichev center, said. "All of the launches were successful."

Kommersant said the last test on July 5 nearly failed, because a sudden pressure drop in the second stage of the rocket almost caused an accident, moments before it was scheduled to separate from the launcher.

But Chaievich said Kommersant was dramatising the situation. "We've investigated the causes, and we see no reason to cancel the launch."

He said the problem had nothing to do with the previous two accidents in 1999.

A report by the US General Accounting Office said there were still a number of safety problems with the module, but the Russian space agency rejected the report.

Spokesman Valery Ryumin said 368 problems had been discovered while testing the module. "Nearly all of the problems have been solved," said Ryumin.

The Zvedza module is scheduled to dock with the two other elements of the ISS on July 26. The Russian module Zarya and the US-built Unity are already in space.

If the automatic docking fails, two Russian cosmonauts, Gennady Padalka and Nikolai Budarin, will be sent into space on August 10 to manually dock the components.

Zvedza will be responsible for navigating the ISS.

The International Space Station is a project involving 16 countries, including the US, Canada, Japan and Russia. When finished, the complex will be 100 metres (yards) long, and weigh more than 450 tonnes.

The departure of the first US-Russian crew to live on the ISS is scheduled for the end of October. Russians Yury Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalyov will blast off on the Russian space craft Soyuz.

ISS Portal at NASA

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACEDAILY

Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.