Many things set Generation Z and Generation Alpha (people born from the late 1990s to the present day) apart from older generations. They’re “digital natives” who have grown up with social media, smartphones, and immediate access to the world’s collective knowledge via the Internet. And in another interesting way, all individuals born after October 31, 2000, have experienced a different reality than their elders. That was the most recent date when all of humanity was on Earth; since then, there has always been at least one person in space.
On October 31, 2000, the Expedition 1 crew, consisting of NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, blasted off aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan en route to the International Space Station. Their arrival two days later marked the beginning of the longest continuous human presence in space.
When Shepherd, Gidzenko, and Krikalev reached the ISS, they were met with very different conditions than those experienced by more recent ISS visitors. Back then, the space station consisted of just three warm, humid rooms. Their first actions after entering the ISS were to turn on the lights and check that the toilet and hot water were working.
Over the next five months, the Expedition 1 crew spent much of their time unpacking, installing, checking, and repairing ISS equipment. They also received three visiting Space Shuttle crews and two unmanned Russian resupply missions. Keeping all of the ISS systems running correctly was more than a full-time job, so they had little opportunity to carry out scientific experiments in microgravity.
Besides dealing with frequent communication blackouts and intermittent radio contact with Earth, Expedition 1 also had to contend with conflicting instructions from the Mission Control centers in the U.S. and Russia. An aggravated Shepherd, the station commander, eventually insisted that they be given a single set of instructions. When they managed to find time, the crew reported that their favorite activity was looking back at Earth. They could enjoy 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets daily, thanks to the ISS completing an orbit in just 90 minutes.
Out-of-this-world ISS facts:
Shepherd, Krikalev, and Gidzenko returned home in March 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, passing responsibility for running the ISS to the crew of Expedition 2.
- More recent crews and commercial visitors have had a very different experience living on the ISS. The complex now consists of 16 pressurized modules containing three laboratories, three toilets, a gym, and six sleeping compartments. They have an internet phone and reliable communication with Mission Control.
- As of March 2024, the ISS has hosted 279 individuals from 22 countries.
- In 2001, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first ever space tourist, reportedly spending $20 million to visit the ISS.
- The ISS wasn’t the first orbiting home for Krikalev and Gidzenko, who had both spent time on Russia’s Mir space station. Shepherd, a former Navy SEAL, was a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions.