Zarya

Zarya (Russian: Заря, lit. ’Dawn’), also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB (from the Russian: “Функционально-грузовой блок”, lit. ’Funktsionalno-gruzovoy blok’ or ФГБ), is the first module of the International Space Station to have been launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly. With the launch and assembly in orbit of other modules with more specialized functionality, and as of August 2021 primarily used for storage, both inside the pressurized section and in the externally mounted fuel tanks. The Zarya is a descendant of the TKS spacecraft designed for the Russian Salyut program. The name Zarya (“Dawn”) was given to the FGB because it signified the dawn of a new era of international cooperation in space. Although it was built by a Russian company, it is owned by the United States.