The Expedition 1 crew completes spacecraft fit checks at the Baikonur Cosmodrome as the STS-92 crew continues International Space Station assembly to prepare for their arrival.
With their historic launch to the International Space Station (ISS) just two weeks away, the Expedition 1 prime and backup crews neared the end of their training. Besides preparing for their mission, they participated in customary preflight ceremonies on Red Square in Moscow. They traveled to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to perform fit checks in the Soyuz spacecraft that would fly them to the orbiting outpost. They returned to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City for one final week of training and medical exams before returning to Baikonur for the launch. Meanwhile, in low-Earth orbit the STS-92 crew resumed assembly of the orbiting outpost to prepare it for the Expedition 1 crew.
Left: Expedition 1 prime and backup crew members Mikhail V. Tyurin, left, Kenneth D. Bowersox, Vladimir N. Dezhurov, William M. Shepherd, Sergei K. Krikalev, and Yuri P. Gidzenko stand in front of the tomb of Vladimir I. Lenin during a ceremonial visit to Red Square in Moscow. Right: Expedition 1 prime crew of Krikalev, left, Shepherd, and Gidzenko holding red carnations to lay at the tomb of Yuri A. Gagarin, the first man in space, in the Kremlin wall. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Following a brief vacation, the Expedition 1 prime crew of Commander William M. Shepherd of NASA and Flight Engineer Sergei K. Krikalev and Soyuz Commander Yuri P. Gidzenko of Roscosmos, accompanied by their backups Kenneth D. Bowersox of NASA and Mikhail V. Tyurin and Vladimir N. Dezhurov of Roscosmos participated in a customary preflight ceremony on Moscow’s Red Square. On Oct. 16, 2000, the six crew members laid flowers at the tomb of Yuri A. Gagarin, the first man in space, and other space icons whose ashes are interred in the Kremlin wall. The crew members toured other notable sites near the Kremlin before returning to GCTC for some last-minute training.
Left: The Expedition 1 crew, William M. Shepherd, left, Yuri P. Gidzenko, and Sergei K. Krikalev depart for the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Right: Expedition 1 backup crew members Vladimir N. Dezhurov, left, Mikhail V. Tyurin, Kenneth D. Bowersox, and the prime crew of Gidzenko, Krikalev, and Shepherd during a press conference at the Baikonur Cosmodrome before the spacecraft fit check.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Two days later, the six crew members traveled to Baikonur to conduct fit checks in the Soyuz TM31 spacecraft, the vehicle used to launch them into space and bring them to the ISS. The day after their arrival, in Baikonur’s Building 254, the Soyuz integration facility, they held a press conference before donning their Sokol launch and entry suits. After each crew member’s suit passed a pressure integrity test, first the prime crew of Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev walked to where their Soyuz spacecraft awaited in a test stand. They climbed aboard, verified the fit of their custom-made seat liners and conducted other tests in the spacecraft. The backup crew of Bowersox, Dezhurov, and Tyurin conducted similar tests. The activities were successfully completed, and the six crew members flew back to Moscow to complete some last-minute training and medical tests at GCTC before returning to Baikonur on Oct. 26 to prepare for their historic launch five days later.
Left: Expedition 1 crew members William M. Shepherd, left, Yuri P. Gidzenko, and Sergei K. Krikalev wearing their Sokol launch and entry suits in preparation for the spacecraft fit check. Middle: Shepherd during the pressure integrity test of his Sokol suit. Right: Gidzenko, left, Shepherd, and Krikalev on their way to their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft for the fit check.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Left: The Expedition 1 crew, Sergei K. Krikalev, left, Yuri P. Gidzenko, and William M. Shepherd (seated with backs to the camera), before entering their Soyuz spacecraft for the fit check. Right: Shepherd, left, Gidzenko, and Krikalev inside the Descent Module of their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft during the fit check.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
Left: Expedition 1 crew of Sergei K. Krikalev, left, Yuri P. Gidzenko, and William M. Shepherd sit outside their Soyuz TM31 spacecraft after the conclusion of the fit check. Right: Expedition 1 backup and prime crew members Vladimir N. Dezhurov, left, Mikhail V. Tyurin, Kenneth D. Bowersox, Gidzenko, Krikalev, and Shepherd during a technical debriefing after the spacecraft fit check.
Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls.
While the Expedition 1 crew conducted their testing at Baikonur, in orbit, the STS-92 astronauts busily prepared the orbiting outpost for their arrival. The seven-member crew installed the Z1 truss and the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 onto the Node 1 module, also known as Unity, during four spacewalks. STS-92 was the last shuttle flight to dock with an uncrewed space station. At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, workers prepared Endeavour for the late November STS-97 flight to add the P6 truss segment, including the first set of solar arrays to provide early power to the orbiting laboratory. The Expedition 1 crew welcomed the five-member crew aboard the space station.
Left: Scene from the fourth STS-92 spacewalk. Right: Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center lift space shuttle Endeavour for mating with the external tank and solid rocket boosters.
To be continued…