Russia launches a new variant of the venerable Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-1, on a mission to the International Space Station. Cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin and Yury Lonchakov and Belgian astronaut
Frank De Winne visit the ISS for 11 days, conducting experiments and bringing supplies to the station. This crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-34, leaving Soyuz TMA-1 at the ISS. When the space shuttle fleet is grounded early in 2003 after the Columbia disaster, Soyuz TMA-1, still berthed at the ISS, becomes the only ride home for the station’s sixth full-time crew.
