Alpha crew takes spin around space station

International space station Alpha backdropped against Rio Negro, Argentina, on February 16, 2001

By Richard Stenger
CNN.com Writer

(CNN) -- The international space station residents left the orbiting outpost to fly a spacecraft Saturday morning. The brief excursion was in preparation for the arrival of an unmanned supply ship.

The one American and two Russian crew members undocked from space station Alpha in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft shortly after 5 a.m. EST, according to NASA.

Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko piloted the Soyuz as it backed out of a docking port on Zvezda, one of four habitable modules that comprise the fledgling station.

MESSAGE BOARD Human spaceflight   INTERACTIVE A 360° stroll through international space station Alpha Cult3D models of the international space station Alpha    ALSO In-depth: City in Space

Gidzenko, fellow cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and U.S. commander Bill Shepherd then flew to the other side of the station and linked up to the docking port on the Zarya module. The entire flight took about 30 minutes, NASA said.

The Soyuz maneuver freed up the Zvezda docking port for an unmanned resupply vessel. The Russian Progress cargo craft should arrive at the end of the month, bringing supplies for the second Alpha crew.

The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to bring up an Alpha replacement crew to the station in March. The shuttle will return with Sheperd, Gidzenko and Krikalev -- the first residents of the space station. They have been on Alpha since November.

Discovery will also bring the first experiments for the science laboratory Destiny. Shuttle Atlantis astronauts delivered the $1.4 billion module earlier this month. The addition made Alpha the roomiest spacecraft ever to fly.

The space station, a $100 billion venture of the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, could be completed as early as 2006. It will boast more living space than a 747 jetliner and extend almost an acre.

$1.4 bill space lab sparks fierce science debate
February 6, 2001
Shuttle departs space station, prepares to head home
February 15, 2001
Shuttle spacewalkers put docking port on Alpha lab
February 12, 2001
Space station crew prepares for lab arrival
February 2, 2001
First space tourist to blast off
January 30, 2001
Mir-bound tourist will detour to international space station
January 4, 2001
Part 2: The Science of the International Space Station
December 26, 2000
Miles O'Brien: Christmas aboard the International Space Station
December 22, 2000
Miles O'Brien: ISS is an engineering, geopolitical marvel
December 7, 2000

Russian Space Agency
Mir Corp
Office of Space Flight - Mir
Human Space Flight - ISS
NASA

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.