21 years ago, November 2, 2000, the International Space Station began its work in manned mode. The transport pilotable ship “Union TM-31” with the crew of the first long-term expedition dashed to the “Star” service module. The crew of the ISS-1 included Russian astronauts Yuri Gyzenko, Sergey Cricalev and American Astronaut William Shepard.
On October 31, 2000, the Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft went to the ISS from the Gagarin Start, the same starting platform from the Baikonur cosmodrome, from which Yuri Gagarin started in 1961. On the morning of November 2, the ship died to the ISS. The approach of the ship with the station was carried out according to the scheme that was used in flights to the Mir station. 90 minutes after docking, the hatch was opened, and the crew of the ISS-1 expedition first stepped on board the ISS.
Arriving on the ISS, the astronauts were detached, retrofitting, launching and configuring the “Star” modules, “Uniti” and “Zarya” and established a connection with flight management centers in the cities of Korolev and Houston. For four months, 143 sessions of geophysical, biomedical and technical research and experiments were performed. In addition, the crew of the ISS-1 provided docks with the “Progress M1-4” cargo ships (November 2000), “Progress M-44” (February 2001) and US Endeavor Shuttle (December 2000), Atlantis ( February 2001), Discovery (March 2001) and their unloading. In February 2001, the integration of the Destin laboratory module was also integrated into the ISS.
March 21, 2001 with the American Space Shuttle “Discovery”, which delivered the crew of the second expedition on the ISS, the team of the first long-term mission returned to Earth. Place of landing was the Space Center named after J. F. Kennedy, Florida, USA.
The creation of the ISS appeared the possibility of performing scientific experiments in the unique conditions of microgravity, in vacuo and under the influence of cosmic radiation. The main areas of research – biology, physics and materials science.
For 21 years of work, the station itself has changed and the station itself has changed, and the knowledge of the person in the fundamental sciences has been much deeper, in the field of practical application of the skills of the life and work of people in weightlessness, in the conditions of radiation and airless space. The main outcome of the ISS is a unique experience of international cooperation, support and mutual execution; construction and operation at the near-earth orbit of a major engineering structure, which is of paramount importance for the future of all mankind.