First module of international space station ready

The first module for a planned international space station has been rolled out by Russian space officials from a factory near Moscow.

The cargo module is the basic building block for the station and was built with funding from the United States.

It will now be transported to Kazakhstan for launch in June.

Further modules will be added after the American space shuttle delivers a connecting device several weeks later.

It's planned that the station will replace the ageing Russian space station Mir from 2002.

The European Space Agency, Canada, and Japan are also involved in the project.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service