ISS component sets a record
Zarya, the International Space Station's first component, completed its 50,000th orbit Tuesday at 11:17 a.m. EDT.
Zarya was funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and built by Russia. It was launched Nov. 20, 1998, atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The module is 41.2 feet long and 13.5 feet wide and was designed to have a lifespan of at least 15 years. It initially provided orientation control, communications and electrical power, but now is used primarily for its storage capacity and its 16 external fuel tanks that can hold more than 6 tons of propellant, NASA controllers in Houston said.
Zarya, when translated into English, means "sunrise."
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Citation:
ISS component sets a record (2007, August 14)
retrieved 25 April 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2007-08-iss-component.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
