Space: August 19, 2000

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NASA has told Boeing to stop working on the space station propulsion module it was going to use to replace the Russian Zvezda module. The Russian module docked on 25 July. NASA now wants contractors to bid on a cargo module in case the Russians can no longer provide Progress vehicles. The Russians cost the station a two-year delay, but now additional modules, live-in crews, and more equipment will flood into the orbital station. The new configuration is 116 feet long. In unrelated news, NASA has decided to put a large lander on Mars in 2003 to look for water rather than another orbital survey camera.--Stephen V Cole