SPACEPHOTOS

This digital artist's concept shows a close-up of Russian segments of the International Space Station after all assembly is completed in 2003. Russia is providing more than a third of the total pressurized volume of the station, including a Service Module in the center of this view that will be the early living quarters and cornerstone of the station, a solar power platform seen at the top of this view, a Soyuz spacecraft that will serve as one of the station's 'lifeboats,' and several research modules. The finished station will have a mass of almost 1 million pounds. Led by the U.S., station modules will be provided by the U.S., Russia, Europe and Japan. Canada will provide a mechanical arm and 'Canada hand.' In total, 16 countries are cooperating to provide the state-of-the-art complex of laboratories in the weightless environment of Earth orbit. The first piece of the station, the U.S.-funded and Russian-built Functional Cargo Block, is scheduled to launch from Kazahkstan in June 1998, beginning a challenging five-year, 45-flight sequence of assembly in orbit.