Status Report

Space Station Status Report #00-48 2 November 2000 8 AM CST

By SpaceRef Editor
November 2, 2000
Filed under

The first resident
crew members to live and work aboard the International Space station
arrived at their new home in space earlier today to begin a planned
four month stay aboard the orbiting outpost. The crew in its Soyuz capsule
— Expedition Commander Bill Shepherd, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko
and Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev — made contact with the aft docking
port to the Zvezda Service Module at 3:21 a.m. CST while the two spacecraft
were flying over the central portion of Kazakhstan to complete a smooth,
automated linkup.

A little over one
hour later at 4:23 a.m. CST, the hatch leading into the Zvezda’s
living quarters was opened, signifying the start of human occupancy
of the international complex. Gidzenko and Krikalev floated into Zvezda
first, at the request of their Commander.

Once inside the
station, the crew members continued the work begun by shuttle crews
and ground controllers to bring the station to life. Their first activities
included checking out communications systems, activating food warmers,
charging batteries for power tools, starting up water processors, and
activating the toilet.

The first live
television views of the crew inside the station were seen at 6:24 a.m.
CST while the station was within range or Russian ground stations. The
crew downlinked video footage of their entry into the station and received
congratulatory messages from American and Russian officials at the Mission
Control Center in Moscow.

The station crew
will turn in for an extended sleep period at 10:45 a.m. Thursday for
their first night aboard their new home. They will be awakened at 10
p.m. to begin their first full day aboard the space station.

The next status
report will be issued about 8 a.m. Friday or as events warrant.

SpaceRef staff editor.