Launch date: October 31, 2000
Launch vehicle: Russian Soyuz spacecraft
Launch complex: Baikonur Cosmodrome

The first occupants of the Station move in. Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev ride a cramped Soyuz spacecraft to the Station for five-month test flight. They set to work to continue the station's assembly inside and out. They plan to return to Earth on the Shuttle, but leave Soyuz attached just in case future astronauts need to ride an emergency lifeboat back to Earth.

News Feature: Join Our Expedition in Russia Following the Launch of the First Crew

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