ESA DG signs ISS agreement, January 1998

Ministers, ambassadors and senior government officials of 11 ESA Member States met their counterparts from the US, Russia, Japan and Canada in Washington DC on 29 January 1998 to sign agreements on the International Space Station (ISS). The 1998 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Space Station Cooperation establishes the framework for cooperation among the partners for ISS design, development, operation and utilisation. It defines the rights and obligations of each of the countries and their jurisdiction and control with respect to their ISS elements. Seated, from left [Image Date: 28-01-98] [98.11.004-001]