Space Station Accord OKd by Europeans
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PARIS — The European Space Agency said Friday that it has approved an accord with NASA to build an international space station in the largest international civil space venture ever undertaken.
The accord, which follows two years of negotiations between the agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was adopted at a meeting here, the agency said in a statement.
The agreement clears the way for development to start on the $20-billion project. The station, due to go into orbit in the late 1990s, will consist of three laboratories, built separately by the United States, Western Europe and Japan, and a U.S.-built living module--all attached to a giant metallic structure.
The $4-billion European contribution will include an unmanned laboratory which will orbit independently of the main structure.
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