International Space Station Element Zarya

ISS Element

Zarya

The Zarya control module, also known by the technical term Functional Cargo Block and the Russian acronym FGB, was the first component launched for the International Space Station and is providing the station's initial propulsion and power. The 44,000-pound pressurized module was launched on a Russian Proton rocket on Nov. 20 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Quick Look Facts: Zarya

Length (end-to-end) - 41.2 feet
Width (at widest point) - 13.5 feet
Gross launching weight - 53,020 pounds
Mass in orbit - 44,088 pounds
Launch vehicle - 3-stage Proton rocket
Launch site - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakstan
Lifetime in orbit - 15 years
Inclination of orbit - 51.6 degrees
Preliminary orbit - 115 x 220 statute miles
Orbit at Rendezvous - 240 statute miles circular

Zarya Means "Sunrise"

The Zarya, which means Sunrise when translated to English, is actually a U.S. component of the station that was built by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KhSC), in Moscow, under a subcontract to The Boeing Co. for NASA.

Zarya is providing orientation control, communications and electrical power while attached to Unity for several months before the launch of the third component, a Russian-provided crew living quarters and early station core known as the Service Module. The Service Module will enhance or replace many functions of the Zarya. Later in the station's assembly sequence, the Zarya module will be used primarily for its storage capacity and external fuel tanks.

Zarya's solar arrays and six nickel-cadmium batteries can provide an average of 3 kilowatts of electrical power. Each of the two solar arrays is 35 feet long and 11 feet wide. Using the Russian Kurs system, the Zarya will perform an automated and remotely piloted rendezvous and docking with the Service Module in orbit. Its docking ports will accommodate Russian Soyuz piloted spacecraft and unpiloted Progress resupply spacecraft. The module has been modified to allow it to be refueled by a Progress vehicle docked to its down-facing port if necessary. The module's 16 fuel tanks combined can hold more than 6 tons of propellant. The attitude control system for the module includes 24 large steering jets and 12 small steering jets. Two large engines are available for reboosting the spacecraft and making major orbital changes.