WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Members of the first crew of the International Space Station from left, ISS Commander astronaut Bill Shepherd, ISS Flight Engineer cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and Soyuz Commander cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko inspect the station's Node 1 as it nears completion of construction at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Al. in May 1997. In June 1998, Node 1 will become the first U.S.-built station component to be launched and will be an integral portion of the station when the crew arrives on board in January 1999. The crew has been in training for the mission since late 1996 with training segments held in both the U.S. and Russia.