Who was the commander of the first ISS expedition?

The commander of the first ISS expedition was Bill Shepherd.

Expedition 1 was the first long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Shepherd, a NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy SEAL, commanded the expedition alongside Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. The crew launched aboard Soyuz TM-31 on 31 October 2000 and began the station’s continuous human occupation.

The expedition lasted about 136 days, ending in March 2001. Shepherd’s appointment was notable because his previous space experience consisted of three short Space Shuttle missions, while Krikalev had extensive long-duration experience from Russia’s Mir station. Gidzenko served as the Soyuz commander and pilot during the journey to the ISS.

A common mix-up is confusing Shepherd with Yuri Gidzenko or Sergei Krikalev, who were also members of Expedition 1. Shepherd was the expedition’s station commander; Gidzenko commanded the Soyuz flight, and Krikalev served as flight engineer. Shepherd later transferred station command to Yury Usachev of Expedition 2.