Debra Rahn
Headquarters, Washington              June 3, 2002
(Phone: 202/358-1638)

RELEASE: 02-105

JOINT STATEMENT: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 
HEADS OF AGENCY MEETING

     The leaders of the space agencies taking part in the 
International Space Station program, including NASA, the 
Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), 
National Space Development Agency of  Japan (NASDA) and the 
Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos), met today 
at ESA's Headquarters in Paris to discuss the status of the 
space station program.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the international partners 
reaffirmed their commitment to working together on the 
development, assembly and use of the orbiting laboratory for 
scientific and applied research. In particular, the partners 
noted the tremendous achievements that have already been 
accomplished through their cooperation on the International 
Space Station, which has so far been assembled with nearly 
flawless precision.

During their meeting the international partners discussed and 
agreed upon a timeline for next steps to assure that the 
space station can be assembled and operated in a way that 
meets its unique world-class research objectives, while not 
compromising the basic requirements of sound system 
engineering and safety.

                        -end-