Soyuz TM-31

Soyuz TM-31 launched from Baikonur Site 1/5 on October 31, 2000 with Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalev, and William Shepherd. The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on November 2, bringing Expedition 1 to the station as its first long-duration resident crew. Shepherd commanded the Expedition 1 increment, while Gidzenko and Krikalev served as flight engineers and helped activate early station systems. The launch crew returned to Earth aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-102 in March 2001. Soyuz TM-31 remained at the station as the docked rescue spacecraft until the Soyuz TM-32 taxi mission exchanged lifeboats; it then returned Talgat Musabayev, Yuri Baturin, and Dennis Tito to Earth on May 6, 2001. This mission record captures the Expedition 1 Soyuz transport layer while leaving the mixed return-crew details in the description and role text.