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  episode
two
Episode
Two, SPACE STATION: The Next Step continues as the
astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour take the U.S.-made Unity
node, the second element of the Space Station, into space to connect with
Zarya. At this point, the Station is already two years behind schedule
and problems with the U.S.-Russian partnership begin to surface. The failing
Russian economy dries up funds for the third element, the vital Service
Module, and delays are put on all future launches as the Americans begin
to look for alternatives. Meanwhile, work continues
as the next Space Shuttle crew completes repairs and provides supplies
for the Space Station's future inhabitants, testing begins on the prototype
"lifeboat" for the Station, future astronaut crews undergo rigorous
training and preparations for their missions and the massive solar rays,
the power generators for the Space Station, are built and tested. Episode
Two concludes with a look forward to the end of 2000, when the Space Station
will only be one-quarter complete but will have a permanent crew embarking
on fifteen years of scientific research that NASA hopes will be the crowning
achievement of this next step in the manned exploration of space.
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