A Russian rocket launched today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver a new science module to the International Space Station (ISS).
After entering orbit, the solar batteries and antennas of "Nauke" opened regularly, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state corporation Roskosmos, told reporters.
The Science Laboratory, 13 meters long, will go to the rear of the orbiting platform and will connect to the other main Russian segments on the station - Zvezda and Zarya.
The new module carries with it a large robotic arm (ERA) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).
This arm is capable of gripping components weighing up to eight tons with a precision of five millimeters.
International Space Station crew members will also be able to use the arm when moving during spacewalks.
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Science was launched with great delay.
It was originally supposed to be shipped back in 2007, but was delayed in part due to budget constraints, but also because engineers ran into a series of technical problems during development.
All stages of the launch vehicle's flight - separation of the stage and ejection of the nose flap - took place in normal mode, according to the Roscosmos website.
The flight of "Science" to the International Space Station will take a little more than a week.
"Science" docking with the Zvezda module is scheduled for July 29, Roskosmos said.
NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated the Russian team on the successful launch of the module.
"I congratulate the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin and the Russian team on the successful launch of Nauka! It will promote research and scientific discoveries," he wrote on Twitter.
Rogozin told reporters that the module will be fully integrated into the International Space Station in six to eight months.
To fully integrate the module into the station, cosmonauts will have to go into space up to ten times, the head of the state corporation told RIA Novosti.
Cosmonauts will use the new module as additional space for conducting experiments and for storing cargo.
They will also use it as a resting place.
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The last significant Russian segment to be sent to the International Space Station was Rasvet, a six-meter-long unit, in 2010.
The Science module was sent at a time when Russia is reconsidering its own future role in the MSS project.
Moscow officials recently hinted that Russia could withdraw from the station in 2025.
Russia has shown little interest in joining the US-led lunar platform known as Gateway, which is expected to be assembled this decade.
Science module
"Science" is the first module sent by Russia to the International Space Station in 11 years.
Currently, the Russian segment of the International Space Station includes five modules: small research modules Rasvet (sent in 2010) and Poisk (2009), Pierce docking compartment (2001), the service module Zvezda (2000) and the functional cargo block Zarja (1998, the first module of the MSS).
"Science" will become the heaviest Russian module of the station.
This is an almost complete copy of the first Zarje module.
"Nauka" was built in 1995 originally as a ground reserve force for Zarja.
But in 2004, it was decided to expand the Russian segment of the MSS, and in order to save money, "Nauka" was developed into a complete flight module.
The launch of "Science" was scheduled for 2007, but due to many difficulties it was postponed for many years.
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