The first crew of what has been called the most ambitious international science project ever attempted, the $60 billion International Space Station, blasted off on its four-month mission yesterday from the Russian base of Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
From the same pad used by the first Sputnik in 1957, and the first man in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, a slender Soyuz TM-31 launch vehicle started an American and two Russians on a voyage that could represent the beginning of humanity's permanent habitation of space.
Agreed upon by the US and Russian governments in 1993 and under construction since 1998, the project has become the primary focus of both countries' space programmes.
Expedition I is commanded by US Navy Capt William Shepherd (51), who has flown three US space shuttle missions. His crew consists of Russian air force Lt Col Yuri Gidzenko (38), who piloted the Soyuz launch vehicle into orbit and is to dock it tomorrow morning with the space station 221 miles above the earth; and Russian flight engineer Sergei Krikalev (42), a veteran of four Russian and US space missions.
The astronaut and two cosmonauts have been training in each other's languages since 1996. They plan to speak a polyglot they call "Runglish" and eat both Russian and American foods during their mission. Their job is to turn on computer and navigation systems, assist in expansion of the space station and establish everyday procedures - in short, to bring it to life.
The station is designed to remain operational for at least 15 years and perhaps as long as 25 years. Its laboratories are expected to contribute vital knowledge about the effects of micro-gravity and long-term living in space, lessons that could lay the foundation for new drug discoveries or a possible future manned voyage to Mars.