The launch date for the crucial Zvezda module of the International Space Station (ISS) is now officially set for July 12, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency announced on Friday.
Russian and U.S. space officials met in Moscow to review the status of the $60 billion project and agreed that Zvezda, the Russian-made service module providing living quarters and re-boost capabilities for the outpost, can be launched during the launch window between July 8 and 14.
On Friday, the new launch date was formally confirmed at the General Designer Council meeting, held at the RKK Energia offices in the town of Korolev, near Moscow. About 350 top space officials were present, including a 40-member team of experts from the U.S. and at least two high-ranking European Space Agency officials.
The General Designer Council is a Russian institution that was created at the dawn of the Space Age by Sergei Korolev, the founder of the Soviet space program. The council was traditionally responsible for the crucial decisions in the industry.
According to Yriy Grigoriev, deputy designer general at RKK Energia, the main concerns in setting a Zvezda launch date revolve around predictions of the lighting conditions that will prevail during the docking of the service module with the two elements of the ISS that are already in orbit.
The optimal conditions for the launch will be on July 12, Grigoriev told SPACE.com. If the July launch window is missed, the second opportunity will come in August.
After 15 days of free flight, Zvezda and ISS should meet in orbit, with the Russian-built Zarya module of the ISS performing active maneuvers to complete the docking automatically.
According to Kyle Herring, the spokesman at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA is now very confident that Russians will launch Zvezda in July.
The Zvezda launch schedule will be contingent, however, on the success of tests of the upgraded Proton engines, which have to be validated first.
"It has always been dependent on the Proton -- the module itself is essentially ready," Herring said.
Proton rockets were grounded after a launch failure on October 27. The vehicle's return to flight is scheduled for February 12.
According to sources in Moscow and Houston, NASA still plans a
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