A row over the building of a new international space station has been resolved, after Russia set a date in July for the launch of an accommodation module.

The date was announced at talks in Russia with officials from the American space agency, Nasa, after two years of delay in the one-hundred-billion-dollar project.

American concerns were heightened after Russia complained about budgetary constraints, and said it was bringing back into service its ageing Mir space station.

The Americans, meanwhile, have overcome delays in their own space programme with the successful launch of their space shuttle, Endeavour.

The launch was four months behind schedule.

Endeavour's mission is to create a three-dimensional map of the earth.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service