The easement module is derived
from the central module of the
Mir Orbital Station and is
similar in design.

Russia’s first contribution to the International Space Station is the Zvezda Service Module, a craft weighing 19 tonnes, measuring 13.1 meters and equipped with solar panels with a wingspan of 29.7 meters. Zvezda was launched by the Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 11, 2000, and docked with the International Space Station on July 25, 2000.

The Zvezda module will provide the Station with its first living quarters as well as electrical distribution and life support, data processing, flight control and propulsion systems. It will also equip the Station with a communications system that will offer, in particular, remote control capabilities for the ground controllers as well as propulsive attitude and overorbit control functions. Although built by Russia, the Zvezda module also includes a data management system, developed by the European Space Agency, which will be the “brain” of the module. This is the first European item delivered to the Station.

Zvezda (Russian term meaning “star”) joined the Space Station after it had already made more than 9,300 orbits. It has three pressurized cabins and thirteen portholes. It will be supplemented or replaced later by American elements of the Station. It will play a critical role as the primary docking port for the Russian Progress resupply vehicle. It will also serve as the main structural and functional center for the Russian part of the International Space Station.