WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The aft hatch and transfer chamber for the Russian Service Module for the International Space Station are shown in this recent view as the module is under construction at the Khrunichev Space and Rocket Center in Moscow. The transfer chamber will eventually be wrapped by an exterior, unpressurized Assembly Compartment that will house propellant tanks, thrusters and communications antennas. The 43-foot long Service Module is planned to be launched by a Russian Proton booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan in December 1998. The module will have a mass of 42,000 pounds and feature solar arrays measuring 97.5 feet long from tip to tip when in orbit.