Zarya (ISS module)

Zarya
Zarya as seen by Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-88
Module statistics
COSPAR ID1998-067A
Part ofInternational Space Station
Launch date20 November 1998, 06:40 UTC
Launch vehicleProton-K
Mass19,323 kg (42,600 lb)
Length12.56 m (41.2 ft)
Diameter4.11 m (13.5 ft)
Pressurised volume71.5 m3 (2,520 cu ft)
Configuration

Parts of Zarya

Zarya (Russian: Заря, lit.'Sunrise'), also known as the Functional Cargo Block (Russian: Функционально-грузовой блок), is the inaugural component of the International Space Station (ISS). Launched on 20 November 1998 atop a Proton-K rocket, the module would serve as the ISS's primary source of power, propulsion, and guidance during its early years. As the station has grown, Zarya's role has transitioned primarily to storage, both internally and in its external fuel tanks. A descendant of the TKS spacecraft used in the Salyut programme, Zarya was built in Russia but its construction was financed by the United States. Its name, meaning "sunrise," symbolizes the beginning of a new era of international space cooperation.