This image is an artist's conception of how the ISS will look when it is completed in 2003. The Station will be powered by almost an acre of of solar panels and will weigh almost 1 million pounds!
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of NASA
International Space Station - Hopefully Coming Soon!
News story originally written on September 16, 1998
Well, the good news is that the first module of the International Space Station (ISS) is still on schedule for launch this November. The second U.S.-built module named Unity will launch in December.
Ready for the bad news? The living quarters module of the ISS which is being built by the Russia Space Agency is still not complete. Spokesman Sergei Gorbunov said, "Financial delays are the reason." As Russia's economy continues to melt down, more and more delays will be felt by the ISS project.
The first crew of the ISS was to be on board by July of 1999. Now it is likely that the first crew won't be in place until sometime in 2000. At this point, all we can do is wait and see.
Although the ISS draws heavily upon the resources of Russian and the U.S., it certainly relies on the expertise of 14 other countries. It remains the largest and most comprehensive international scientific endeavor.
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