Soyuz TM-31 is transported to the Launch Pad at the Baikonur complex, 29 October 2000

Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spaceflight to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).[1] The spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 07:52 UT on October 31, 2000, by a Soyuz-U rocket.

The crew consisted of Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, and American William Shepherd. Gidzenko was Commander of the flight up, but once aboard the station, Shepherd became Commander of the long-duration mission Expedition 1.[2] It is notable for beginning the continuous occupation of space from the 31st of October, 2000 to the present.[3]

Crew

Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander Russia Yuri Gidzenko, RKA
Expedition 1
Second spaceflight 		Russia Talgat Musabayev, RKA
ISS EP-1
Third and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer Russia Sergei Krikalev, RKA
Expedition 1
Fifth spaceflight 		Russia Yuri Baturin, RKA
ISS EP-1
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer/Spaceflight Participant United States William Shepherd, NASA
Expedition 1
Fourth and last spaceflight 		United States Dennis Tito, SA
ISS EP-1
First spaceflight
Tourist


References

  1. ^ "Soyuz ISS Missions" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-02.
  2. ^ "ISS: 10 Years of Human Space Mission". Russian Federal Space Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01.
  3. ^ Mike Wall (2019-04-23). "The Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records". Space.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.