ISS Expedition 1

The inaugural expedition consisted of NASA astronaut William Shepherd as the commander, alongside Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. The three-person crew launched on October 31, 2000, marking the beginning of continuous human habitation on the International Space Station.

The crew launched aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-31 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They successfully docked with the station's Zvezda service module two days later to begin their long-duration stay in orbit.

Expedition 1 lasted for nearly 141 days, with the crew living aboard the station from early November 2000 until March 2001. Their primary mission was to activate critical life support systems and prepare the orbital outpost for the arrival of future crews.

The crew returned to Earth on March 21, 2001, touching down via the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-102 mission. The shuttle had delivered the new Expedition 2 crew to relieve Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev of their duties.