New Russian Module Enroute to ISS

Russia’s new “Poisk” module is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS). The module was launched today and is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Thursday. Its primary purpose is as another docking port, though some scientific experiments also could be conducted there.

This is the fourth Russian-built ISS module. The first, Zarya, was the very first ISS segment in orbit. Launched in 1998, it provided guidance, navigation and control for the ISS until other segments were launched. Though built in Russia, it was paid for by the United States and therefore officially is a U.S. segment. In 2000, the Russian-built, Russian-owned Zvezda module joined the space complex after a two-year delay primarily caused by funding problems in the Russian space program. Zvezda is the main crew quarters. In 2001, the Russian Pirs docking port was added.