The first International Space Station (ISS) element, the Russian module Zarya, was launched on November 20, 1998. The ISS now weighs 419 tons, is home to six Astronauts, and involves the USA, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan. It is the largest structure assembled in orbit.
Fifteen years ago on November 20, 1998, a Russian Proton rocket took off from the
Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It successfully placed the Russian module Zarya into orbit, the first element of the future International Space Station (ISS), a program that involves the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan and their respective space agencies (NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, CSA and JAXA).
The Fifteenth Anniversary of the International Space Station
