Zvezda's long path to space is told in pictures By Jim Banke Senior Producer, posted: 01:15 am ET 12 July 2000 ET
Zvezda Takes Shape
Essentially an empty shell of metal in 1995, the Zvezda service module takes shape at its factory near Moscow. The open holes at front will become docking ports.
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Zvezda's Russian Railroad
Covered now in a protective nose cone, the Zvezda service module is transported by rail from one processing hangar to another at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakstan.
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Proton's Passenger
The Zvezda service module is attached to the front of its Proton rocket booster at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.
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Military Escort
The main engines of the Proton rocket lead the way as the booster and its Zvezda service module cargo is moved to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
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Slow Crawl to Space
The Proton rocket carrying the Zvezda service module is moved by rail out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
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Zvezda Waits With Proton
Fully fueled and ready to fly, the Proton rocket sits on its launch pad less than an hour before its mission to carry the Zvezda service module is ready to begin.
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We Have Liftoff
History is made on the Kazakstan desert as a Proton rocket lifts off with the Zvezda service module at 12:56 a.m. EDT (0456 GMT) July 12, 2000.
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Things to Come
A NASA artist's conception of what the Zvezda service module will look like when it docks to the International Space Station.
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