The first ISS module, the Zarya Control Module, was launched atop a Russian Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 20, 1998. In by July 7, 2019 The first ISS module, the Zarya Control Module, was launched atop a Russian Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 20, 1998.