Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spaceflight to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 07:52 UT on October 31, 2000, by a Soyuz-U rocket.
(L-R) Gidzenko, Shepherd and KrikalevSoyuz programme (Crewed missions)← Soyuz TM-30Soyuz TM-32 →
Image: Soyuz TM 31 launch
Soyuz TM-31 is transported to the Launch Pad at the Baikonur complex, 29 October 2000
Soyuz is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet crewed lunar programs. It is launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Between the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle and the 2020 demo flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, the Soyuz served as the only means to ferry crew to or from the International Space Station, for which it remains heavily used. Although China did launch crewed Shenzhou flights during this time, none of them docked with the ISS.
Soyuz MS, the latest version of the spacecraft
Diagram showing the three elements of the Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Soyuz spacecraft's orbital module
Soyuz spacecraft's descent module