Press Release

Astronauts to set up home on International Space Station for first time

By SpaceRef Editor
October 27, 2000
Filed under

The first crew to reside aboard the International Space Station will be launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday 31 October at 08:53 Central European Time (CET). Their arrival on the Space Station
two days later will mark the start of the human presence aboard the outpost.

The Expedition 1 crew will spend the next four months setting up and testing the new Space Station. The three crewmembers –
Space Station commander Bill Shepherd (US), Soyuz commander Yuri Gidzenko (Russia) and flight engineer Sergei Krikalev
(Russia) – have been training for the mission since late 1996, both in the US and in Russia.

When they arrive, the Space Station will consist of three modules: the service module Zvezda, which serves as living quarters and
onboard control centre initially; the cargo block Zarya, which provides supplementary power and propulsion; and Node 1, a
connecting module that provides the attachments points for future segments.

An ESA-developed, on-board central computing system called the Data Management System performs guidance, navigation and
control for the Space Station complex . European scientific experiments are also already on the Space Station, waiting for research
to begin.

The first European will visit the Space Station as of next year. ESA astronaut Umberto Guidoni (Italy) will be on board Space
Shuttle mission STS-102 scheduled to carry the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and nine tonnes of fresh cargo to the
Space Station in April 2001.

ESA, representing 10 European countries, is one of five partners in the International Space Station. The others are the United
States, Russia, Japan and Canada.

For information on ESA and the International Space Station, please see: http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight

For information on the 1st expedition crew and their mission, please see : http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Press events across Europe on 31 October

Media are invited to ESA sites events across Europe where the launch will be transmitted live and astronauts and programme
officials will be on hand for interviews. If you wish to attend, please complete and return by fax the attached form.

Live coverage of the launch

ESA’s TV service will produce a live transmission of the launch from Baikonur, with a feed from the mission control centre TsUP
in Moscow, starting at 07:35 GMT. The launch is currently scheduled for Tuesday 31 October at 07.53 GMT. For up-to-date
information, see http:/television.esa.int.

Live coverage of the docking

Soyuz’s docking and the crew’s entry into the Space Station two days after launch will also be covered on ESA’s TV service. The
docking is currently scheduled for 2 November at 09.19 GMT.
For further information, please contact :

ESA Media Relations Office

Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155

Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690

First Expedition Crew Launch ACCREDITATION FORM- 31 October 2000

Name : _______________________________ Surname : ____________________________

MEDIA : __________________________________________________________________

Address : __________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Tel : _____________________________ Fax : ______________________________

Mobile : __________________________ e-mail : ____________________________

I will participate in the 1st Expedition Crew launch event on Tuesday 31 October at the following site:

( ) France

Location: ESA Headquarters

Address: 8-10 rue Mario Nikis, 75015 Paris, France

Opening hours : 08:15

Contact point: Anne-Marie RÈmondin

Tel. + 33 1 5369 7155

Fax. + 33 1 5369 7690

( ) The Netherlands

Location: ESA/ESTEC, Erasmus User Centre for the International Space Station

Address: Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk, Holland

Opening hours: 07:45

Contact point: Heidi Graf

Tel on 31 October (morning only) :+31 71 565 5559

Tel. : + 31 71 565 3006/3008

Fax. + 31 71 565 5728

Infotape : +31 71 565 8816

( ) Germany

Location: ESA/ EAC

Address: Porz Wahnheide – Linder Hˆhe – Cologne, Germany

Opening hours: 08:00

Contact point: Jean Coisne

Tel. + 49 2203 6001 50

Fax. + 49 2203 6001 66

( ) Italy

Location: ESA/ESRIN

Address: Via G. Galilei, Frascati (Rome), Italy

Opening hours: 08:00

Contact point: Franca Morgia

Tel. + 39 06 9418 0951

Fax. +39 06 9418 0952

( ) Spain:

Location ESA/VILSPA Satellite Station

Address: Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid

Opening hours : 08:00

Contact point: Fany PeÒa

Tel. + 34 91 813 1211

Fax. +34 91 813 1212

Please fill out the form and fax it back to the site of your choice.

SpaceRef staff editor.