The first elements of the International Space Station (ISS) to be launched will be the Khrunichev/Boeing FGB spacecraft (top) shown undergoing checkout in Russia, and the Boeing Node 1 docking hub in checkout at the Kennedy Space Center. We discover more about the June 1998 launch on page 42. In the article, our writer Craig Covault introduces the feature: "Conceived as the next logical step after the Apollo lunar program, the ISS has been a NASA objective for nearly three decades and a formal project since 1984.