The control module of the International Space Station (ISS), and the first part to be launched. It was put into orbit by a Russian Proton rocket in November 1998. The Zarya Control Module, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, is 12.6 m long and 4.1 m across at its widest, with two solar wings 10.7 m long. Its side docking ports accommodate Russian Soyuz crew ferries and unpiloted Progress resupply craft. The module's sixteen fuel tanks can hold more than 5.4 tonnes of propellant. Zarya provided the initial propulsion, communications, and power for the ISS, but after the arrival of the Zvezda Service Module and the US Destiny Laboratory it became used primarily for storage, docking, and as a fuel tank. Although built and launched by Russia, it is owned by NASA.

The Soviet-built first International Space Station module Zarya orbits Earth.

Credit: NASA