BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan -- The Proton rocket with the Zvezda service module, the critical element of the International Space Station, rolled out to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday for final preparation for its launch next week.

Traditionally for this Russian launch site in Kazakhstan, the more than 130-foot- (40-meter-) tall rocket -- with the Zvezda module under its nose fairing -- left assembly building Number 92-1 Friday at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (Saturday, 01:30 GMT).

The rocket reached launch pad 23 -- the first of four launch pads used for the Proton rocket in Baikonur -- in Area 81 at 11:10 p.m. EDT (Saturday, 03:10 GMT). Despite seemingly strict security at the gates to the launch complex, numerous observers gathered to watch the rocket rollout. Some of them were seen putting coins on the rails to be smashed by the rocket train -- another Cosmodrome tradition.

Over the next few hours, the rocket was propped into a vertical position and lowered onto the launch pad. The giant service tower then moved into place, completely enveloping the vehicle with an array of access balconies. The launch personnel will use the tower to inspect the rocket and its payload in the next four days.

Anatoly Kiselev, director of launcher manufacturer Khrunichev, and Yuri Semenov, director of RKK Energia, responsible for the Zvezda service module, showed up at the launch pad soon after the rocket arrival with a large group of associates. They told a crowd of reporters that everything is on target for a July 12 launch. "There are no issues," Kiselev said. "We are 100-percent ready," Semenov echoed.

The officials said that in the next day and a half, the RKK Energia team would conduct final inspection of the module now sitting on top of the rocket. Next, military personnel of Area 81 in Baikonur will prepare the Proton rocket for launch.

SPACE.com presents full coverage of this critical mission to the International Space Station.

The launch of Zvezda will mark a major milestone for the multibillion-dollar International Space Station, ISS. When the spacecraft docks with elements of the ISS currently in space, the fledgling settlement will be able to accommodate a three-man crew for long-duration expeditions.

The Zvezda will also be used to store propellant delivered by the Russian cargo ships and has thrusters to adjust the station's orbit. The construction of the module, the first element of the station financed entirely by the Russian government, has fallen almost two years behind schedule.

According to the latest information from the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviacosmos, the Zvezda launch is scheduled on July 12 at 1:56:28 a.m. EDT (05:56:28 GMT).