Permanent Habitation

In July 2000, the station was joined by the Russian service module Zvezda, with living quarters and systems for long-duration crew stays. This opened the way for the first permanent crew.

Expedition 1 (Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalev) launched aboard Soyuz TM-31 from Baikonur on 31 October 2000 and docked with the station on 2 November 2000. The ISS has been continuously inhabited ever since — the longest unbroken human presence in space in history.