The Space Station’s First Crew

Expedition 1 Commander Bill Shepherd (center) is flanked by Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko (right) and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev (left) in this crew photograph. The three, seated in front of an artist’s concept of the International Space Station, are wearing the Sokol space suits like those donned for trips in the Soyuz to the station. National flags representing all the international partners run along the bottom of the portrait. Expedition 1 was the first crew to live aboard the orbital platform and launched to the station on Oct. 31, 2000. Image Credit: NASA