English: Above: Astronauts from the Space Shuttle mission STS-88 work on the embryonic International Space Station, hours after connecting the first element – the Russian-built Zarya FGB control module with the US-built Node 1 Unity module in December 1998.

In December 1998, the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-88 began construction of the International Space Station, joining the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module. The crew carried a large-format IMAX® camera from which this picture was taken. - Astronaut James Newman working on communication cables on Unity while Astronaut Ross monitors his progress.

Zarya ("Dawn" or "Sunrise") Control Module, also known as FGB, which stands for Russian abbreviation of Functional Cargo Block, became the first element of the International Space Station to be launched. The idea of the module was proposed by Moscow-based Khrunichev Enterprise. The Zarya FGB derived from the TKS spacecraft originally developed for the canceled project of the Almaz military orbital station. – The Zarya Control Module was launched atop a Russian Proton rocket. Zarya provides battery power and fuel storage.