Partners Sign ISS Agreements
January 29, 1998, marked an important milestone for the International Space Station as senior government officials from 15 countries met in Washington and signed agreements establishing the framework for cooperation among the partners on the design, development, operation and utilization of the Space Station.
Image at right: This commemorative was presented on the occasion of the signing of the International Space Station Agreements.
Acting Secretary of State Strobe Talbott signed the 1998 Intergovernmental Agreement on Space Station Cooperation, along with representatives of Russia, Japan, Canada and participating countries of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). The signing was held at the U.S. State Department's Dean Acheson auditorium.
Image at left: Senior government officials from 15 countries participating in the International Space Station signed agreements on Jan. 29, 1998.
Three bilateral memoranda of understanding were also signed by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin separately with his counterparts: Russian Space Agency General Director Yuri Koptev, ESA Director General Antonio Rodota and Canadian Space Agency President William (Mac) Evans. The memorandum of understanding between NASA and the government of Japan was signed Feb. 24, 1998.
These new agreements supersede previous Space Station agreements among the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada signed in 1988. These new agreements reflect changes to the Space Station program resulting from significant Russian participation in the program and program design changes undertaken by the original partnership in 1993.
Led by the U.S., the International Space Station will be the largest, most complex international cooperative science and engineering program ever attempted. Taking advantage of the technical expertise from participating countries, the International Space Station will bring together scientists, engineers and researchers from around the globe to assemble a premier research facility in orbit.