At first the crew was to be commander Sergei Zalyotin and flight engineer Frank De Winne; however, a report released in February 2002 stated that American musician Lance Bass was interested in joining the crew for a one-week mission on board the Russian spacecraft.

While the Soyuz TMA-1 was on orbit, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred and required a change in crew changeout process.

The craft landed 300 miles short of the planned area, and the crew was subjected to severe acceleration loads.

Due to this event, future crews would be provided with a satellite phone to establish contact with recovery forces.

[6][7] Pettit was left exhausted and reportedly dislocated a shoulder, but the space agencies downplayed the situation saying the astronauts were in good shape.