In 2000, a crew for the first time headed for the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket for four months to prepare ISS facility for research. Expedition 1 was the first long-term crew to live aboard the International Space Station. William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev launched on October 31, 2000. They reached the station on November 2 and began work to activate its systems and prepare it for continued construction and research. Their mission included station maintenance, scientific experiments, cargo operations, visiting spacecraft and preparations for future crews. The mission ended with the crew's return on March 21, 2001.
