NASA hopes to set a strict timetable for completion of the ISS's next stage, and get assurances from Russia that it is still committed to the project, said Carlos Fontanot, NASA's representative in Moscow.

NASA is questioning Russia's dedication to the project, which aims to build by 2004 a space station comprising huge solar arrays, six laboratories and living quarters for a crew of up to seven.

The Russian decision to reactivate the Mir space station has fueled worries that Moscow may not consider the ISS project a priority.

"The Russians have to understand what the priority is, and that's their participation in the ISS," said Friday NASA head Daniel Goldin. "Under no circumstances should their work on Mir distract from the ISS."

The two days of talks began with discussions of technical aspects of the space station's construction, Fontanot said.

On Friday, NASA officials and their counterpart from Rosaviakosmos will address the more politically sensitive topic of of delays in the ISS's construction, Fontanot said, focusing on the Zvezda, the habitable section of the ISS's 100 "modules".

Zvezda remains grounded almost two years after its original launch date in April, 1998.

During the talks, NASA hopes to nail down a specific date for launching Zvezda, possibly by the summer, Fontanot said. NASA has threatened to send up its own craft to do the Zvezda's work for it if the Russian's won't.

Only two of the ISS's modules have been put in place so far, both going up in November, 1998.

Russia's partners on the ISS--the US, Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency and Brazil-- are seeking assurances that Moscow's limited budgetary resources for the ISS will not be redirected towards the Mir.

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