CAPECANAVERAL, Fla. -- A U.S.-Russian crew is headed back to the InternationalSpace Station today -- and this time, the aim is to stay.
 
 

ExpeditionOne

Lookhere for the latest news about the first crew to live and work aboard theInternational Space Station.

Rocketinghigh above Earth in a Soyuzspacecraft, U.S. astronaut William Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts-- Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev -- set sail Tuesday on a mission totakeup residence at the international outpost.

Theirintent: To ready the station for the delivery of its first science lab,setting the stage for a lengthy string of research crews that will liveand work aboard the complex during the next decade and a half.

Andin doing so, the first full-time tenants of the station -- despite a frustratingtwo-year launch delay -- may well give the human race a permanent footholdin outer space.

[inset]"It'sbeen a struggle. There are so many people who felt maybe we couldn't doit," an ecstatic NASA Administrator Dan Goldin said after the crew thunderedaway from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

"Butit's happening. It's here. We're going to be in space forever with peoplefirst circling this globe, and then we're going on to Mars, back to theMoon, and [on to] bases on asteroids."
 

ARussian Soyuz rocket lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying the firstcrew to live and work aboard the International Space Station. Image fromNASA TV.

AddedNASA flight director Rick LaBrode: "Today is probably the most significantevent in manned spaceflight since the launch of Yuri Gagarin 40 years ago.For today will mark the last day -- barring any unforeseen circumstance-- that we don't have a human presence in space."

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Anew era

Inwhat was billed as the opening of a new era in space exploration, the so-calledExpedition One blasted off at 2:53 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (07:53 GMT)at the same storied launch pad from which Gagarin embarked on the world'sfirst piloted spaceflight in 1961.

CosmonautsYuri Gidzenko (left) and Sergei Krikalev are seen inside the Soyuz capsuleduring the climb to orbit early Tuesday. Image from NASA TV.

Flamebelching from its powerful engines, the 162-foot (49-meter) rocket knifedits way through thick fog and cold winds as the station passed 240 miles(384 kilometers) over northern Africa near the border of Chad and Sudan.

Camerasinside the Soyuz beamed back live images of the three men -- dressed inwhite and blue spacesuits and wearing helmets with clear visors -- ridingcalmly within their cramped spacecraft during the 8.5-minute climb intoorbit.

Shepherdcould be seen waving to the cameras, and his cosmonaut colleagues worebroad smiles and vigorously shook hands after the crew arrived in an initialparking orbit.

Backat Baikonur, Shepherd's wife, Beth, fired up a victory cigar.

"I'mvery excited. It's been a long time coming, but it's definitely been worthit. It was an excellent launch and I'm looking forward to the mission,"she said. "I think it's a big step for space, and I think it's only thebeginning in our quest to go to Mars."

Theepoch-opening launch was preceded by heavy doses of preflight hoopla andtradition.

LikeRussian cosmonauts before them, the three men signed a door at their crewquarters. Adding an American twist, Shepherd drew a cartoon-like outlineof the international station.

Then,just before boarding a bus for the launch pad, a Russian Orthodox priestsprinkled holy water on Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev, who then drankchampagne with journalists and colleagues.

Therituals continued as the three suited up, posed for a picture with theirbackup crew, presented themselves to launch authorities and then made apit stop on the bus ride out to the pad.

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Let'sdo it

Continuinga tradition started by Gagarin, the station crew stepped off the bus andurinated on one of its tires - an act not shown on NASA TV.

Shepherd(left), Gidzenko and Krikalev report they are ready to launch. Image fromNASA TV.

Carryingportable air conditioning units for their suits, the trio appeared happyand confident as they grinned and waved to well-wishers assembled at thebase of the rocket.

"Let'sdo it," Shepherd called out, flashing thumbs up before the veteran spacefliers climbed aboard the Soyuz two hours before launch.

Nowtrailing behind and below the station, the crew will spend the next twodays firing on-board thrusters in a bid to close a wide gap between theorbiting craft.

A high-flyingrendezvous and docking at the station is scheduled to take place at 4:24a.m. EST (09:24 GMT) Thursday.

Thefirst order of business aboard the outpost: Turning on the lights. Shepherdand company then will set up a makeshift galley, activate a water-supplysystem, turn on the toilet and establish TV and radio links with groundcontrollers.

BethShepherd tokes a victory cigar.

"Theseguys are going to be busy," Shepherd's wife, Beth, said between drags onher thick stogie. "The way I see it, they're going to be setting up a newhouse and getting things the way that they want them to be."

Therest of their four-month tour of duty will be geared to activating andtesting crucial life support systems and readying the outpost for the arrivalof three station construction crews.

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Workahead

Some40 more U.S. shuttle and Russian rocket missions will be required to buildthe station, which eventually will weigh 480 tons and span an area nearlyas large as two football fields set side by side.

Andafter years of fits and starts, Goldin said he fully expects the $60 billionconstruction project to encounter difficulties along the way.

"We'regoing to have more problems," the NASA chief said. "This is tough stuff.It ain't easy to go to space. We're going to make it happen, but no oneshould think it is easy."

A jointproject of space agencies from 16 nations on four continents, station constructionnow is scheduled to be completed in mid 2006 -- almost 14 years later thanoriginally planned -- and the outpost is expected to operate in orbit anotherdecade beyond that.

Shepherdand his crew, meanwhile, will be the first of an estimated 45 full-timecrews that will live and work aboard the station during the next 15 years.

Andif all goes well, NASA officials say, the work on the outpost might blazea trail to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

"Ithink this just opens up a whole new world to us. This is a steppingstoneto the future," said Robert Cabana, a senior manager in the agency's spacestation program office.

Shepherdsummed it up best before flight: "This mission, and this program, is thekeystone for the future of human space exploration. What more do you wantto say?"