Rosaviakosmos said an existing main contract on liaison for the ISS construction would be modified. It would call for a further $14 million to be budgeted for contingencies related to the ISS.

The agency said U.S. President Bill Clinton has approved the amount, which NASA will allocate to Rosaviakosmos for the supply of new docking and other equipment, including a special pressurized dome for the Zvezda service module, and a docking hub for the Zarya cargo module which will employ various systems for docking spacecraft.

The experts say the existing docking facilities, which are produced only at the Energiya space rocket corporation, are not quite able to meet all requirements and may have to be altered in the future.

The supplemental contract also calls for the manufacture at Energiya of a docking unit for the power or engine module, which is being produced in the United States and which should be launched in 2003.

Zvezda is preparing to dock with the first two elements of the ISS - Zarya and Unity, on July 26. The first lengthy mission to the ISS is timed for October 30.

ISS Portal at NASA

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