Previous talks had floundered on American insistence that it remain in sole charge of the orbiting base, which is due to house laboratories for scientific experiments and accommodate about eight people. But last month, at a meeting in Washington with representatives of the European Space Agency, U.S. officials were said to have agreed to permit European control of two parts of the Columbus laboratory structure that ESA is due to provide by the mid-1990s.
As a compromise, Western Europe’s negotiators agreed to U.S. jurisdiction over another part of Columbus that will be fitted to the core of the station permanently. Japan and Canada are also expected to provide laboratory units and equipment for the station.
