Space Station 20th: Expedition 1 One Week Away!

Expedition 1 crew members arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to prepare for their historic launch as workers readied their spacecraft for the journey

The first crew to live and work aboard the International Space Station, as well as their backups, arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 26, 2000. During the five days leading up to their historic launch, they conducted a final check of their Soyuz spacecraft, already encased in its protective launch shroud, got in some final exercise sessions and preflight medical exams, and held their last ground-based press conference. The State Commission met and confirmed the crews for the mission. Workers joined the Soyuz spacecraft with its rocket’s upper stage, and then mated that assembly with the launch vehicle’s booster stage before rolling the rocket out to the launch pad. 

Left: The Expedition 1 prime crew of Sergei K. Krikalev, left, and Yuri P. Gidzenko, both of Roscosmos, and William M. Shepherd of NASA arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kakazkhstan, greeted by Russian space officials. Right: The Expedition 1 backup crew of Mikhail V. Tyurin, left, of Roscosmos, Kenneth D. Bowersox of NASA, and Vladimir N. Dezhurov of Roscosmos upon their arrival at Baikonur. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Expedition 1 Commander William M. Shepherd of NASA, Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Yuri P. Gidzenko of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Sergei K. Krikalev of Roscosmos, arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 26, 2000. The backup crew, Kenneth D. Bowersox of NASA and Vladimir N. Dezhurov and Mikhail V. Tyurin of Roscosmos, arrived the same day, the two crews flying in separate jets from their home base in Star City, outside Moscow. Russian space officials and a small crowd of well-wishers greeted them on the tarmac.

Left: Workers prepare to place the payload shroud over the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft in the Spacecraft Assembly and Test Facility at Baikonur. Right: Workers insert the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft into its payload shroud. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The day before both crews arrived, workers in Baikonur’s Building 254, the Spacecraft Assembly and Test Facility, had encased their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft in its launch shroud. The aerodynamic shroud was designed to protect the spacecraft during the first few minutes of flight through the dense lower regions of the atmosphere. Workers then raised the spacecraft, while in the shroud, to a vertical position and placed it inside a test stand.

Left: Expedition 1 crew members Shepherd, left, Gidzenko, and Krikalev on their way to the final preflight checkout of their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft. Middle: Expedition 1 crew members prepare to enter their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft, encased in its protective payload shroud. Right: Expedition 1 crew members Shepherd, left, Gidzenko, and Krikalev, in the Soyuz TM31 descent module. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

On Oct. 27, Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev, clad in overalls, crawled inside their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft to conduct a final check of its systems. Bowersox, Dezhurov, and Tyurin followed with a similar test. Workers then lowered the spacecraft back to a horizontal position, placed it on a railcar, and transferred it to Building 112, the Launch Vehicle Assembly and Test Facility. The crews spent the next few days visiting the museum in Baikonur, exercising, conducting medical tests, and participating in a flag-raising ceremony.

Left: Expedition 1 Commander Shepherd exits the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft following the completion of the final preflight check. Right: Workers prepare to transfer the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft in its payload shroud to the Rocket Assembly and Test Facility. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Left: From left, Krikalev, Gidzenko, and Shepherd visit the Baikonur Museum. Middle: Shepherd during the flag-raising ceremony. Right: Gidzenko participates in vestibular training as Krikalev observes. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

On Oct. 28, workers in Building 112, the Launch Vehicle Assembly and Test Facility, attached the spacecraft in its shroud to the rocket’s third stage, and then mated that combination to launch vehicle booster stages, already assembled on a railcar. The next day, at the customary 7 a.m. local time, workers began the slow rollout of the rocket to the launch pad. Mounted on its railcar, the Soyuz rocket inched out of Building 112 into a foggy morning and soon arrived at Launch Pad 1 — known as Gagarin’s Start because Yuri A. Gagarin, the first man in space, launched from that facility on April 12, 1961. At the pad, a strong back lifted the rocket to a vertical position, and service arms closed around it, giving workers access to it for prelaunch processing.

Left: Workers had attached the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft to its rocket’s third stage and prepare to attach it to the booster stage. Right: Workers align the Soyuz and its upper stage to mate them with the booster stage. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Left: The rocket carrying the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft begins its rollout to Launch Pad 1. Right: Workers erect the rocket and its Soyuz TM31 spacecraft on Launch Pad 1. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Russian State Commission met on Oct. 30 to confirm the readiness of the launch the next day, and officially confirmed Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev as the crew who would undertake the mission. This marked the last full day when all of humanity was together on planet Earth. Since then, there has always been someone living and working aboard the space station.

Left: The Expedition 1 prime and backup crews pose with the State Commission after it officially named Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev as the crew who would fly the mission. Right: From left, Krikalev, Gidzenko, and Shepherd report to the State Commission that confirmed them as the Expedition 1 crew. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

From left, the Expedition 1 crew of Gidzenko, Krikalev, and Shepherd signal their readiness the day before their historic launch. It was the last full day that all of humanity spent together on the planet. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Meanwhile, as the Expedition 1 crew prepared for its historic launch, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers continued to prepare Space Shuttle Endeavour for its next flight, STS-97. During that mission, launched on Nov. 30, 2000, and the first to dock with an occupied space station, crew members installed the P6 truss segment that included the first set of solar arrays to provide power to the growing orbital outpost.

Left: STS-97 crew members Carlos I. Noriega and Joseph R. Tanner examine the P6 truss segment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Middle: Space Shuttle Endeavour begins its rollout to the launch pad.  Right: Endeavour at Launch Pad 39B. Credits: NASA

To be continued …