Launch of Zarya, first module of the International Space Station

On 20 November 1998 a Proton-K rocket placed Zarya, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, into orbit as the first module of the International Space Station. In the station's early years it supplied power, propulsion and guidance; as the ISS grew, its role shifted mainly to storage, including its external fuel tanks. A descendant of the TKS spacecraft from the Salyut programme, it was built in Russia but financed by the United States, and its name means "sunrise".