Zarya Launch
The First ISS Element: Zarya Reaches Orbit
Zarya launched from Baikonur on a Proton rocket on November 20, 1998, beginning assembly of the International Space Station and providing early power, propulsion, communications, and control.
Mission type
Uncrewed station-module launch
Launch
November 20, 1998
Mission end / docking
December 6, 1998 — Zarya was mated to Unity during STS-88
Launch vehicle / spacecraft
Proton-K
Objective
What this ISS mission set out to accomplish
Place the first ISS element into low Earth orbit and establish the early electrical-power, propulsion, communications, and attitude-control capability needed before later station modules arrived.
This record treats Zarya Launch as an assembly or station-support mission rather than as a satellite engineering page, keeping the mission objective separate from the hardware-level ISS engineering record.
Flight and rendezvous
How the mission reached and worked at the station
Zarya Launch launched on November 20, 1998 using Proton-K from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
Zarya launched independently on a Proton rocket, entered orbit, deployed its antennas and solar arrays, raised and adjusted its orbit, and waited for Space Shuttle Endeavour to rendezvous during STS-88.
Hardware and assembly
What was delivered, installed, or reconfigured
Primary hardware or assembly focus: Zarya Functional Cargo Block (FGB).
Installation record: Captured and mated to Unity on December 6, 1998. This is the engineering connection between the mission story and the interactive International Space Station breakdown.
Outcome
What changed on the International Space Station
Zarya successfully became the first ISS element in orbit. Its launch began the station's orbital assembly sequence, and its systems supported the early two-module station after Unity was attached.
The documented result makes Zarya Launch part of the larger ISS assembly chain, where individual missions progressively added structure, power, laboratories, robotics, thermal control, logistics, and crew-support systems.
Continue exploring
Follow the connected story
Open the International Space Station engineering page
See the station modules, truss systems, solar arrays, robotics, and launch/install history in the interactive engineering experience.
Browse launch records
Compare this mission with other launches and ISS assembly flights.
Browse mission records
Explore other TransitSatellite mission stories.
Sources