Expedition 1
Encyclopedia
Expedition 1, or Expedition One, was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station
(ISS). The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of July 2011. Expedition 2
, which also had three crew members, immediately followed Expedition 1.
The official start of the expedition occurred when the crew docked to the station on 2 November 2000, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-31
, which had launched two days earlier. During their mission, the Expedition 1 crew activated various systems on board the station, unpacked equipment that had been delivered, and hosted three visiting Space Shuttle crews and two unmanned Russian Progress resupply vehicles. The crew was very busy throughout the mission, which was declared a success.
The three visiting Space Shuttles brought equipment, supplies, and key components of the space station. The first of these, STS-97
, docked in early December 2000, and brought the first pair of large U.S. photovoltaic arrays, which increased the station's power capabilities fivefold. The second visiting shuttle mission was STS-98
, which was docked in mid-February 2001, delivered the US$1.4 billion research module Destiny, which increased the mass of the station beyond that of Mir
for the first time. Mid-March 2001 saw the final shuttle visit of the expedition, STS-102
, whose main purpose was to exchange the Expedition 1 crew with the next three person long-duration crew, Expedition 2
. The expedition ended when Discovery
undocked from the station on 18 March 2001.
The Expedition 1 crew consisted of an American commander and two Russians. The commander, Bill Shepherd
, had been in space three times before, all on shuttle missions which lasted at most a week. The Russians, Yuri Gidzenko
and Sergei K. Krikalev, both had previous long-duration spaceflights on Mir, with Krikalev having spent over a full year in space.
, was a former Navy SEAL
, whose only spaceflight
s were on shuttle missions, and at the beginning of the mission his total time in space was about two weeks. Questions had been raised by the Russian space agency about the choice of Shepherd as mission commander due to his lack of experience. Flight engineer Sergei Krikalev
had spent over a year in orbit, mostly on Mir, and would become the first person to visit the ISS twice. He had felt excitement to have been one of the first people to enter to Zarya
module (the first component of the space station) in 1998, during STS-88
, and was looking forward to returning. Yuri Gidzenko
was designated commander and pilot of the two-day Soyuz mission to the station, had one previous spaceflight, which was a 180 day stay aboard Mir
.
Shepherd was only the second U.S. astronaut to be launched in a Russian spacecraft, the first being Norman Thagard
, who launched on Soyuz TM-21
to visit Mir in 1995. Shepherd expected one of the biggest challenges for the ISS would be the compatibility of technologies, such as that between Russian and U.S. technologies.
module, which was launched unmanned in November 1998. Following this launch, and prior to Expedition 1, there were five manned Space Shuttle flights and two unmanned Russian flights to the ISS. Some of these flights delivered large modules, such as the pressurized Unity and Zvezda modules, and the first piece of the Integrated Truss Structure
. The manned flights were used for partial assembly of the ISS, as well as to start unpacking the supplies and equipment that we being delivered. Prior to Expedition 1, Krikalev expected the ISS to be very similar to his experience on Mir ten years previous, due to the physical similarities of the stations' components.
The launch of the Expedition 1 crew occurred a week before the United States presidential election
, so it got little attention in the United States. At the time of the mission, the station was expected to be completed in 2006, and be continuously inhabited until at least 2015. Due to several delays, including the fallout from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
, the station is expected to be completed in late 2011.
visits, which occurred in early December, mid-February, and at the end of the expedition in March.
The three-member Expedition 1 crew successfully launched on 31 October 2000, at 07:52 UTC, atop a Soyuz-U
rocket on Soyuz TM-31
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan
; they used launch pad Gagarin's Start
, from which the first human to fly in space, Yuri Gagarin
, was launched in 1961. After 33 orbits of the Earth, and a series of rendezvous maneuvers performed by Gidzenko, they docked the Soyuz capsule to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on 2 November 2000, at 09:21 UTC. Ninety minutes after docking, Shepherd opened the hatch to Zvezda and the crew members entered the complex.
Alpha
At the end of the first day on the station, Shepherd requested the use of the radio call sign "Alpha", which he and Krikalev preferred it to the more cumbersome "International Space Station". The name "Alpha" had previously been used for the station in the early 90's, and following the request, its use was authorized for the whole of Expedition 1. Shepherd had been advocating the use of a new name to project managers for some time. Referencing a naval tradition
in a pre-launch news conference he had said: "For thousands of years, humans have been going to sea in ships. People have designed and built these vessels, launched them with a good feeling that a name will bring good fortune to the crew and success to their voyage." Yuri Semenov, the President of Russian Space Corporation Energia
at the time, disapproved of the name "Alpha"; he felt that Mir was the first space station, and so he would have preferred the names "Beta" or "Mir 2" for the ISS.
In their first weeks on board, the Expedition 1 crew members activated critical life support systems and computer control, as well as unpacked supplies left behind for them by previous supply missions. At this time the station did not have enough electricity to heat all three pressurized modules, so Unity was left unused and unheated. Unity had been used for the past two years to allow U.S. flight controllers to command ISS systems and read station system data.
The Russian unmanned resupply spacecraft Progress M1-4
docked to the station on 18 November. The Progress spacecraft's automatic docking system failed, necessitating a manual docking controlled by Gidzenko using the TORU
docking system. Although manual dockings are routine, they have caused some concern among flight controllers since an attempt in 1997 which resulted in the spacecraft colliding with Mir, causing significant damage.
The astronauts had a heavy workload in the first month, as Shepherd told reporters in a space-to-ground interview: "To me, the biggest challenge is trying to pack 30 hours into an 18-hour work day." Some of the early tasks took longer than scheduled. For example, the activation of a food warmer in Zvezda's galley was scheduled for 30 minutes, but it took the astronauts a day and a half to turn it on.
Endeavour
docked with the ISS on 2 December 2000, on mission STS-97
, bringing four more Americans and a Canadian temporarily to the station. The shuttle also brought the first pair of U.S. provided photovoltaic arrays, which would provide crucial electricity
for further development of the station. In total, STS-97 brought 17 tons of equipment to the ISS, which also included expandable metal girders, batteries, electronics and cooling equipment.
Three spacewalks
were conducted by the crew of STS-97, all of which were completed prior to opening the hatch between shuttle and station. On 8 December, the hatch between the two was opened and the two crews greeted each other for the first time. It had remained closed to maintain their respective atmospheric pressures. The Expedition 1 crew took this opportunity to leave the station and tour the inside of the space shuttle, which was thought to be good for their psychological well-being.
Progress M1-4
Prior to Endeavour docking, the Russian resupply spacecraft Progress M1-4
, which came to the station in mid-November, was undocked to make room for the space shuttle. This Progress spacecraft remained undocked for the duration of STS-97, parked in orbit about a mile away from the station. It docked manually again with the station on December 26 by Gidzenko, after Endeavour left. The automatic docking system for this Progress spacecraft had failed on the first docking in November. The crew spent much of the following week unloading the Progress spacecraft.
Christmas and New Years
On Christmas Day, the Expedition 1 crew were given the day off work. They opened presents delivered by Endeavour and the Progress supply ship. They also each took turns speaking to their families. In the following days they did several video downlinks, some with Russian TV stations. The crew had a quiet New Years. Citing a Naval tradition, for the New Year's entry of the station's log, Shepherd provided a poem on behalf of the crew.
On 9 February 2001, Space Shuttle Atlantis
docked to the ISS, bringing the five American crew members of STS-98
temporarily to the station. The mission was originally planned for mid-January, but was delayed due to NASA's concerns about some cables on the shuttles. This mission brought the U.S. built Destiny laboratory, which has a mass of 16 short ton
s. It was installed with the use of the shuttle's robotic Canadarm, controlled by Marsha Ivins
. Astronauts Thomas D. Jones and Robert L. Curbeam helped with the installation during a spacewalk. The Destiny module had a cost of US$1.4 billion, and would be used primarily for scientific research. During the spacewalk an ammonia
coolant leak created a contamination scare, which happened when Curbean was hooking up coolant lines to Destiny. The other two spacewalks went ahead without any problems. While the Shuttle was docked, the control of the station's orientation was switched from propellants to electrically powered gyroscopes, which had been installed in September 2000. The gyroscopes had not been used earlier due to the lack of key navigational electronics.
By the end of STS-98, the crew of Expedition 1 had been on the station for over three months, and Shepherd stated that he was "ready to come home". NASA used several techniques to prevent the three crew members from suffering the effects of the "three-month wall" psychological barrier, which had caused depression in previous astronauts. For example they allowed more time for the crew to speak to their families via videophone, and they also encouraged them to watch movies and listen to music they like.
Progress M-44
On 28 February the third Progress spacecraft to visit the ISS, Progress M-44
, docked to the Zvezda module. It brought air, food, rocket fuel and other equipment. It remained docked until Expedition 2
, when it was intentionally burnt up during atmospheric reentry
, like all Progress spacecraft.
docked on 10 March 2001, bringing to the ISS the new long-duration three person crew of Expedition 2
, as well as four short-term crew members of STS-102
. A few hours after docking, the hatch opened, and all ten astronauts greeted each other, setting a new record for the number people simultaneously in the ISS. The day after docking, American astronauts Jim Voss
and Susan Helms
began a spacewalk which ended up being nearly nine hours long, and still holds the record for the longest spacewalk ever performed, as of August 2010. The length of the spacewalk was partially due to some mistakes, including Voss accidentally releasing a small tool. Unable to retrieve it, NASA engineers tracked the tool, and decided to use Discoverys thrusters on 14 March to boost the station four kilometers higher, to ensure the ISS would not collide with the piece of space debris
.
Transferring expedition crews
By 14 March, the expedition crews had completed the change over, but until the shuttle undocked, Shepherd officially remained commander of the station. The morning of the 14th the astronauts' wake-up call was the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go
" by The Clash
, at the request of Shepherd's wife. Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL
, said during the change over ceremony: "May the good will, spirit and sense of mission we had enjoyed on board endure. Sail her well." The commander of Discovery, Jim Wetherbee
, said ""For Captain Shepherd and his crew, we hold you in admiration as we prepare to bring you home. This has been an arduous duty for you. This ship was not built in a safe harbor. It was built on the high seas."
, landing on 21 March 2001, on a rare night landing at 2:30am local time. Two days after the landing, coincidentally, Mir
was intentionally burned up during atmospheric reentry
, ending its 15 years in orbit.
Following the wake-up call, the crew was given some time to clean up, have breakfast, and read e-mail which had been uplinked to them from flight controllers. Their work day included a lunch break at midday (UTC), and ended with a mid-afternoon planning session with flight controllers, regarding the next day's activities. Most days ended with some entertainment, with the crew watching all or part of a movie; this was thought to be good for crew bonding as well as their psychological well-being. After watching 2010, the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
, Shepherd commented, "[There is] something strange about watching a movie about a space expedition when you're actually on a space expedition".
An important part of the crew's schedule was regular exercise. They had three pieces of equipment for this: a stationary bicycle, a treadmill (TVIS
), and a resistance device (IRED) for weight-lifting. The bicycle malfunctioned in mid-December 2000, and wasn't fixed until March. The treadmill, which used bungee cord
s to keep the crew member in place, was designed to reduce the vibrations caused by running. A normal treadmill would have produced enough vibrations to shake the station, and potentially affect the sensitive science experiments on board. The treadmill malfunctioned near the end of February, but some in-flight maintenance fixed the problem within a week.
communications gear (also called the "Regul radio link") in Zvezda and the Zarya module to communicate with the Russian Mission Control Center (known as "TsUP") in Korolev, outside Moscow. The Russian techonology didn't have the use of satellites, so they were restricted to ground passes (called a "comm pass") which lasted for only 10–20 minutes. With the arrival of the solar arrays on STS-97
, they activated the S-band Early Communication gear in the Unity Module, allowing for more continuous communication with Mission Control in Houston via NASA's network of Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
s.
During STS-106
in September 2000, the equipment for a ham radio was delivered to the station. The first ham radio contact with the ground made by the Expedition 1 crew was on 13 November on a pass over Moscow, shortly followed by contact with Goddard Space Flight Center
in Maryland
. The crew reported that voice quality was best with the ham radio, compared to any other form of ground communication.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
project had the crew of the station to make brief windows to radio contact with schools and clubs on the ground. The first school to be contacted by the ISS was Luther Burbank
School in southwest Chicago
. The contact had been planned for 19 December 2000, but due to technical problems, it was delayed to 21 December 2000. Due to the speed of the space station, the window of radio contact only lasted for 5–10 minutes, which was usually enough for 10 to 20 questions.
experiments conducted on the space station. It was a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
in Germany
, and the Institute for High Energy Densities (part of the Russian Academy of Sciences
).
Like previous missions, the astronauts took many photos of Earth from the station, over 700 in total, which have been made freely available. These Crew Earth Observations, are intended to record dynamic events on the Earth's surface such as storms, fires, or volcano
es. For example, a photo from 1 January 2001 shows Mount Cleveland
, Alaska
, with a plume of smoke, prior to its eruption the following month. On 23 January 2001, the crew observed a unique perspective of a plume of volcanic ash coming from Popocatépetl
, an active volcano 70 kilometres southeast of Mexico City
.
An example of a low-maintenance experiment was the protein crystal growth
experiment, which had also been flown on previous shuttle missions. The goal was to produce better protein crystallizations than those produced on the Earth, and hence allowing for a more accurate model of protein structure
s. Of the 23 proteins and virus
es attempted during Expedition 1, only four resulted in successful crystallizations, which was a lower success rate than predicted. Of those successful was the low-calorie sweetener Thaumatin
, whose crystals diffracted at a higher resolution than Earth-grown crystal, which resulted in a more accurate protein structure model.
Another research activity was measuring the crew's heart rates and the station's carbon dioxide levels to determine the effect of exercise on the station.
documentary film, Space Station 3D
. Highlights of the footage include the first entry into the Destiny module, during STS-98; the Expedition 1 crew showering and shaving in zero gravity
; and the docking of STS-102, followed by the change over to the Expedition 2 crew.
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(ISS). The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of July 2011. Expedition 2
Expedition 2
Expedition 2 was the second long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station, immediately following Expedition 1. Its three person crew stayed aboard the station from March to August 2001...
, which also had three crew members, immediately followed Expedition 1.
The official start of the expedition occurred when the crew docked to the station on 2 November 2000, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-31
Soyuz TM-31
Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station . Launched near the end of 2000 the Soyuz-TM spacecraft brought to ISS Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew...
, which had launched two days earlier. During their mission, the Expedition 1 crew activated various systems on board the station, unpacked equipment that had been delivered, and hosted three visiting Space Shuttle crews and two unmanned Russian Progress resupply vehicles. The crew was very busy throughout the mission, which was declared a success.
The three visiting Space Shuttles brought equipment, supplies, and key components of the space station. The first of these, STS-97
STS-97
STS-97 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. The crew installed the first set of solar arrays to the ISS, prepared a docking port for arrival of the Destiny Laboratory Module, and delivered supplies for the station's crew.-Crew:-Mission...
, docked in early December 2000, and brought the first pair of large U.S. photovoltaic arrays, which increased the station's power capabilities fivefold. The second visiting shuttle mission was STS-98
STS-98
STS-98 was a 2001 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-98 delivered to the station the Destiny Laboratory Module...
, which was docked in mid-February 2001, delivered the US$1.4 billion research module Destiny, which increased the mass of the station beyond that of Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
for the first time. Mid-March 2001 saw the final shuttle visit of the expedition, STS-102
STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
, whose main purpose was to exchange the Expedition 1 crew with the next three person long-duration crew, Expedition 2
Expedition 2
Expedition 2 was the second long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station, immediately following Expedition 1. Its three person crew stayed aboard the station from March to August 2001...
. The expedition ended when Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
undocked from the station on 18 March 2001.
The Expedition 1 crew consisted of an American commander and two Russians. The commander, Bill Shepherd
William Shepherd
William McMichael Shepherd is a former American astronaut who served as commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the International Space Station. Shepherd is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.-Biography:...
, had been in space three times before, all on shuttle missions which lasted at most a week. The Russians, Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center . Gidzenko has flown twice into space and has lived on board the Mir and International Space Stations. He has also conducted two career spacewalks. Although he retired on July 15,...
and Sergei K. Krikalev, both had previous long-duration spaceflights on Mir, with Krikalev having spent over a full year in space.
Crew
The commander, Bill ShepherdWilliam Shepherd
William McMichael Shepherd is a former American astronaut who served as commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the International Space Station. Shepherd is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.-Biography:...
, was a former Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
, whose only spaceflight
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
s were on shuttle missions, and at the beginning of the mission his total time in space was about two weeks. Questions had been raised by the Russian space agency about the choice of Shepherd as mission commander due to his lack of experience. Flight engineer Sergei Krikalev
Sergei Krikalev
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev is a Russian cosmonaut and mechanical engineer. As a prominent rocket scientist, he has been veteran of six space flights and currently has spent more time in space than any other human being.On August 16, 2005 at 1:44 a.m...
had spent over a year in orbit, mostly on Mir, and would become the first person to visit the ISS twice. He had felt excitement to have been one of the first people to enter to Zarya
Zarya
Zarya , also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB , was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly...
module (the first component of the space station) in 1998, during STS-88
STS-88
-Mission parameters:*Weight*Liftoff: *Landing: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Orbital Period: 92.4min-Launch attempts:-Mission highlights:Node 1, named Unity, was the first space station hardware delivered by the space shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters , one attached to either end...
, and was looking forward to returning. Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center . Gidzenko has flown twice into space and has lived on board the Mir and International Space Stations. He has also conducted two career spacewalks. Although he retired on July 15,...
was designated commander and pilot of the two-day Soyuz mission to the station, had one previous spaceflight, which was a 180 day stay aboard Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
.
Shepherd was only the second U.S. astronaut to be launched in a Russian spacecraft, the first being Norman Thagard
Norman Thagard
Norman Earl Thagard is an American scientist and former NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut...
, who launched on Soyuz TM-21
Soyuz TM-21
Soyuz TM-21 was Soyuz mission, a human spaceflight mission transporting personnel to the Russian space station Mir. Part of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:11:34 UTC on March 14, 1995...
to visit Mir in 1995. Shepherd expected one of the biggest challenges for the ISS would be the compatibility of technologies, such as that between Russian and U.S. technologies.
Background
The first component of the space station was the ZaryaZarya
Zarya , also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB , was the first module of the International Space Station to be launched. The FGB provided electrical power, storage, propulsion, and guidance to the ISS during the initial stage of assembly...
module, which was launched unmanned in November 1998. Following this launch, and prior to Expedition 1, there were five manned Space Shuttle flights and two unmanned Russian flights to the ISS. Some of these flights delivered large modules, such as the pressurized Unity and Zvezda modules, and the first piece of the Integrated Truss Structure
Integrated Truss Structure
the Integrated Truss Structure forms the backbone of the International Space Station, with mountings for unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment.-History:...
. The manned flights were used for partial assembly of the ISS, as well as to start unpacking the supplies and equipment that we being delivered. Prior to Expedition 1, Krikalev expected the ISS to be very similar to his experience on Mir ten years previous, due to the physical similarities of the stations' components.
The launch of the Expedition 1 crew occurred a week before the United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, so it got little attention in the United States. At the time of the mission, the station was expected to be completed in 2006, and be continuously inhabited until at least 2015. Due to several delays, including the fallout from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
, the station is expected to be completed in late 2011.
Mission highlights
The crew of three were on board the International Space Station for four and a half months, from early November 2000 to mid-March 2001. Major events during this time include the three week long Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
visits, which occurred in early December, mid-February, and at the end of the expedition in March.
Launch and docking
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
rocket on Soyuz TM-31
Soyuz TM-31
Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station . Launched near the end of 2000 the Soyuz-TM spacecraft brought to ISS Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew...
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
; they used launch pad Gagarin's Start
Gagarin's Start
Gagarin's Start is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency....
, from which the first human to fly in space, Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
, was launched in 1961. After 33 orbits of the Earth, and a series of rendezvous maneuvers performed by Gidzenko, they docked the Soyuz capsule to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on 2 November 2000, at 09:21 UTC. Ninety minutes after docking, Shepherd opened the hatch to Zvezda and the crew members entered the complex.
Alpha
At the end of the first day on the station, Shepherd requested the use of the radio call sign "Alpha", which he and Krikalev preferred it to the more cumbersome "International Space Station". The name "Alpha" had previously been used for the station in the early 90's, and following the request, its use was authorized for the whole of Expedition 1. Shepherd had been advocating the use of a new name to project managers for some time. Referencing a naval tradition
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
in a pre-launch news conference he had said: "For thousands of years, humans have been going to sea in ships. People have designed and built these vessels, launched them with a good feeling that a name will bring good fortune to the crew and success to their voyage." Yuri Semenov, the President of Russian Space Corporation Energia
S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
OAO S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia , also known as RKK Energiya, is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components...
at the time, disapproved of the name "Alpha"; he felt that Mir was the first space station, and so he would have preferred the names "Beta" or "Mir 2" for the ISS.
First month
The Russian unmanned resupply spacecraft Progress M1-4
Progress M1-4
Progress M1-4, identified by NASA as Progress 2 or 2P, was a Progress spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station. It was a Progress-M1 11F615A55 spacecraft, with the serial number 253....
docked to the station on 18 November. The Progress spacecraft's automatic docking system failed, necessitating a manual docking controlled by Gidzenko using the TORU
TORU
TORU system is a manual docking system of Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft that serves as a backup to the automatic Kurs system . It was used on the Mir, Salyut and is currently used on the International Space Station...
docking system. Although manual dockings are routine, they have caused some concern among flight controllers since an attempt in 1997 which resulted in the spacecraft colliding with Mir, causing significant damage.
The astronauts had a heavy workload in the first month, as Shepherd told reporters in a space-to-ground interview: "To me, the biggest challenge is trying to pack 30 hours into an 18-hour work day." Some of the early tasks took longer than scheduled. For example, the activation of a food warmer in Zvezda's galley was scheduled for 30 minutes, but it took the astronauts a day and a half to turn it on.
STS-97
Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
docked with the ISS on 2 December 2000, on mission STS-97
STS-97
STS-97 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. The crew installed the first set of solar arrays to the ISS, prepared a docking port for arrival of the Destiny Laboratory Module, and delivered supplies for the station's crew.-Crew:-Mission...
, bringing four more Americans and a Canadian temporarily to the station. The shuttle also brought the first pair of U.S. provided photovoltaic arrays, which would provide crucial electricity
Electrical system of the International Space Station
The electrical system of the International Space Station is a critical resource for the International Space Station because it allows the crew to live comfortably, to safely operate the station, and to perform scientific experiments. The ISS electrical system uses solar cells to directly convert...
for further development of the station. In total, STS-97 brought 17 tons of equipment to the ISS, which also included expandable metal girders, batteries, electronics and cooling equipment.
Three spacewalks
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
were conducted by the crew of STS-97, all of which were completed prior to opening the hatch between shuttle and station. On 8 December, the hatch between the two was opened and the two crews greeted each other for the first time. It had remained closed to maintain their respective atmospheric pressures. The Expedition 1 crew took this opportunity to leave the station and tour the inside of the space shuttle, which was thought to be good for their psychological well-being.
Progress M1-4
Prior to Endeavour docking, the Russian resupply spacecraft Progress M1-4
Progress M1-4
Progress M1-4, identified by NASA as Progress 2 or 2P, was a Progress spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station. It was a Progress-M1 11F615A55 spacecraft, with the serial number 253....
, which came to the station in mid-November, was undocked to make room for the space shuttle. This Progress spacecraft remained undocked for the duration of STS-97, parked in orbit about a mile away from the station. It docked manually again with the station on December 26 by Gidzenko, after Endeavour left. The automatic docking system for this Progress spacecraft had failed on the first docking in November. The crew spent much of the following week unloading the Progress spacecraft.
Christmas and New Years
On Christmas Day, the Expedition 1 crew were given the day off work. They opened presents delivered by Endeavour and the Progress supply ship. They also each took turns speaking to their families. In the following days they did several video downlinks, some with Russian TV stations. The crew had a quiet New Years. Citing a Naval tradition, for the New Year's entry of the station's log, Shepherd provided a poem on behalf of the crew.
STS-98
On 9 February 2001, Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
docked to the ISS, bringing the five American crew members of STS-98
STS-98
STS-98 was a 2001 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-98 delivered to the station the Destiny Laboratory Module...
temporarily to the station. The mission was originally planned for mid-January, but was delayed due to NASA's concerns about some cables on the shuttles. This mission brought the U.S. built Destiny laboratory, which has a mass of 16 short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s. It was installed with the use of the shuttle's robotic Canadarm, controlled by Marsha Ivins
Marsha Ivins
Marsha Sue Ivins is a former American astronaut and a veteran of five space shuttle missions.-Career:Ivins, born in Baltimore, Maryland, earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1973 and went to work for NASA's Johnson Space Center...
. Astronauts Thomas D. Jones and Robert L. Curbeam helped with the installation during a spacewalk. The Destiny module had a cost of US$1.4 billion, and would be used primarily for scientific research. During the spacewalk an ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
coolant leak created a contamination scare, which happened when Curbean was hooking up coolant lines to Destiny. The other two spacewalks went ahead without any problems. While the Shuttle was docked, the control of the station's orientation was switched from propellants to electrically powered gyroscopes, which had been installed in September 2000. The gyroscopes had not been used earlier due to the lack of key navigational electronics.
By the end of STS-98, the crew of Expedition 1 had been on the station for over three months, and Shepherd stated that he was "ready to come home". NASA used several techniques to prevent the three crew members from suffering the effects of the "three-month wall" psychological barrier, which had caused depression in previous astronauts. For example they allowed more time for the crew to speak to their families via videophone, and they also encouraged them to watch movies and listen to music they like.
Progress M-44
On 28 February the third Progress spacecraft to visit the ISS, Progress M-44
Progress M-44
Progress M-44, identified by NASA as Progress 3 or 3P, was a Progress spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station. It was a Progress-M 11F615A55 spacecraft, with the serial number 244....
, docked to the Zvezda module. It brought air, food, rocket fuel and other equipment. It remained docked until Expedition 2
Expedition 2
Expedition 2 was the second long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station, immediately following Expedition 1. Its three person crew stayed aboard the station from March to August 2001...
, when it was intentionally burnt up during atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
, like all Progress spacecraft.
STS-102
Space Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
docked on 10 March 2001, bringing to the ISS the new long-duration three person crew of Expedition 2
Expedition 2
Expedition 2 was the second long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station, immediately following Expedition 1. Its three person crew stayed aboard the station from March to August 2001...
, as well as four short-term crew members of STS-102
STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
. A few hours after docking, the hatch opened, and all ten astronauts greeted each other, setting a new record for the number people simultaneously in the ISS. The day after docking, American astronauts Jim Voss
James S. Voss
James Shelton Voss is the Vice President of Engineering at SpaceDev. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and NASA astronaut. During his time with NASA, Voss flew in space five times on board the Space Shuttle and International Space Station...
and Susan Helms
Susan J. Helms
Susan Jane Helms is a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut. She is currently the Commander, 14th Air Force ; and Commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California...
began a spacewalk which ended up being nearly nine hours long, and still holds the record for the longest spacewalk ever performed, as of August 2010. The length of the spacewalk was partially due to some mistakes, including Voss accidentally releasing a small tool. Unable to retrieve it, NASA engineers tracked the tool, and decided to use Discoverys thrusters on 14 March to boost the station four kilometers higher, to ensure the ISS would not collide with the piece of space debris
Space debris
Space debris, also known as orbital debris, space junk, and space waste, is the collection of objects in orbit around Earth that were created by humans but no longer serve any useful purpose. These objects consist of everything from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to erosion, explosion...
.
Transferring expedition crews
By 14 March, the expedition crews had completed the change over, but until the shuttle undocked, Shepherd officially remained commander of the station. The morning of the 14th the astronauts' wake-up call was the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go
Should I Stay or Should I Go
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November...
" by The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, at the request of Shepherd's wife. Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
, said during the change over ceremony: "May the good will, spirit and sense of mission we had enjoyed on board endure. Sail her well." The commander of Discovery, Jim Wetherbee
Jim Wetherbee
James Donald "Wxb" Wetherbee is an American Naval officer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of six Space Shuttle missions and is the only American to have commanded five spaceflight missions....
, said ""For Captain Shepherd and his crew, we hold you in admiration as we prepare to bring you home. This has been an arduous duty for you. This ship was not built in a safe harbor. It was built on the high seas."
Undocking and landing
The crew's four and a half month tour aboard the ISS officially ended on 18 March 2001, when Discovery undocked. The Expedition 1 crew returned home to Earth on STS-102STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
, landing on 21 March 2001, on a rare night landing at 2:30am local time. Two days after the landing, coincidentally, Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
was intentionally burned up during atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
, ending its 15 years in orbit.
Daily activities
In a typical day, each crew member divided his time between physical exercise, station assembly and maintenance, experiments, communications with ground personnel, personal time, and bio-needs activities (such as rest and eating). The crew's daily schedule usually operated on UTC; for example, a typical morning had been scheduled to begin with an electronic wake-up tone at about 05:00 UTC. But during the expedition, a more typical wake-up time was actually between 06:00 and 07:00 UTC. The crew's sleep habits were sometimes shifted to accommodate the schedules of visiting shuttles or resupply vehicles.Following the wake-up call, the crew was given some time to clean up, have breakfast, and read e-mail which had been uplinked to them from flight controllers. Their work day included a lunch break at midday (UTC), and ended with a mid-afternoon planning session with flight controllers, regarding the next day's activities. Most days ended with some entertainment, with the crew watching all or part of a movie; this was thought to be good for crew bonding as well as their psychological well-being. After watching 2010, the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
, Shepherd commented, "[There is] something strange about watching a movie about a space expedition when you're actually on a space expedition".
An important part of the crew's schedule was regular exercise. They had three pieces of equipment for this: a stationary bicycle, a treadmill (TVIS
Treadmill with Vibration Isolation System
The Treadmill with Vibration Isolation Stabilization System, commonly abbreviated as TVIS, is a treadmill for use on-board the International Space Station and is designed to allow astronauts to run without vibrating delicate microgravity science experiments in adjacent labs...
), and a resistance device (IRED) for weight-lifting. The bicycle malfunctioned in mid-December 2000, and wasn't fixed until March. The treadmill, which used bungee cord
Bungee cord
A bungee cord , also known as a shock cord, is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropylene sheath...
s to keep the crew member in place, was designed to reduce the vibrations caused by running. A normal treadmill would have produced enough vibrations to shake the station, and potentially affect the sensitive science experiments on board. The treadmill malfunctioned near the end of February, but some in-flight maintenance fixed the problem within a week.
Ground communications
Until the Unity module was available for use a month into the mission, the astronauts used the Russian VHFVery high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
communications gear (also called the "Regul radio link") in Zvezda and the Zarya module to communicate with the Russian Mission Control Center (known as "TsUP") in Korolev, outside Moscow. The Russian techonology didn't have the use of satellites, so they were restricted to ground passes (called a "comm pass") which lasted for only 10–20 minutes. With the arrival of the solar arrays on STS-97
STS-97
STS-97 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. The crew installed the first set of solar arrays to the ISS, prepared a docking port for arrival of the Destiny Laboratory Module, and delivered supplies for the station's crew.-Crew:-Mission...
, they activated the S-band Early Communication gear in the Unity Module, allowing for more continuous communication with Mission Control in Houston via NASA's network of Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft,...
s.
During STS-106
STS-106
STS-106 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: 233 mi...
in September 2000, the equipment for a ham radio was delivered to the station. The first ham radio contact with the ground made by the Expedition 1 crew was on 13 November on a pass over Moscow, shortly followed by contact with Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The crew reported that voice quality was best with the ham radio, compared to any other form of ground communication.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station is a project sponsored by various entities and carried out by astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station who also have an amateur radio license. The program was previously called SAREX, the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, and...
project had the crew of the station to make brief windows to radio contact with schools and clubs on the ground. The first school to be contacted by the ISS was Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science.He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 54-year career. Burbank's varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables...
School in southwest Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The contact had been planned for 19 December 2000, but due to technical problems, it was delayed to 21 December 2000. Due to the speed of the space station, the window of radio contact only lasted for 5–10 minutes, which was usually enough for 10 to 20 questions.
Science activities
Unlike subsequent expeditions, the crew of Expedition 1 had a somewhat modest amount of science experiments to conduct, due to the priority placed on station construction. The plasma crystal experiment, known as PKE-Nefedov, was one of the first natural scienceNatural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
experiments conducted on the space station. It was a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is a Max Planck Institute, located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.In 1991 the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics split up into the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, the Max Planck Institute for Physics and the...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Institute for High Energy Densities (part of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
).
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es. For example, a photo from 1 January 2001 shows Mount Cleveland
Mount Cleveland (Alaska)
Mount Cleveland is a nearly symmetrical stratovolcano on the western end of Chuginadak Island, a remote landmass in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Cleveland is high, and one of the most active of the 75 or more volcanoes in the larger Aleutian Arc...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, with a plume of smoke, prior to its eruption the following month. On 23 January 2001, the crew observed a unique perspective of a plume of volcanic ash coming from Popocatépetl
Popocatépetl
Popocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...
, an active volcano 70 kilometres southeast of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
An example of a low-maintenance experiment was the protein crystal growth
Protein crystallization
Most Proteins and many biological macromolecules differ from "small" molecules because the environment in which they function is aqueous. Therefore most biological macromolecules can be prompted to form crystals when the solution in which they are dissolved becomes supersaturated. The manner in...
experiment, which had also been flown on previous shuttle missions. The goal was to produce better protein crystallizations than those produced on the Earth, and hence allowing for a more accurate model of protein structure
Protein structure
Proteins are an important class of biological macromolecules present in all organisms. Proteins are polymers of amino acids. Classified by their physical size, proteins are nanoparticles . Each protein polymer – also known as a polypeptide – consists of a sequence formed from 20 possible L-α-amino...
s. Of the 23 proteins and virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es attempted during Expedition 1, only four resulted in successful crystallizations, which was a lower success rate than predicted. Of those successful was the low-calorie sweetener Thaumatin
Thaumatin
Thaumatin is a low-calorie sweetener and flavour modifier. The substance, a natural protein, is often used primarily for its flavour-modifying properties and not exclusively as a sweetener....
, whose crystals diffracted at a higher resolution than Earth-grown crystal, which resulted in a more accurate protein structure model.
Another research activity was measuring the crew's heart rates and the station's carbon dioxide levels to determine the effect of exercise on the station.
IMAX filming
Throughout the mission the Expedition 1 crew filmed footage for use in the IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
documentary film, Space Station 3D
Space Station 3D
Space Station 3D is a 2002 documentary film about the International Space Station. It is the first IMAX 3D production filmed in space. It is narrated by Tom Cruise. The "flat" version was titled simply Space Station....
. Highlights of the footage include the first entry into the Destiny module, during STS-98; the Expedition 1 crew showering and shaving in zero gravity
Weightlessness
Weightlessness is the condition that exists for an object or person when they experience little or no acceleration except the acceleration that defines their inertial trajectory, or the trajectory of pure free-fall...
; and the docking of STS-102, followed by the change over to the Expedition 2 crew.