The first French woman, 44-year old Claudie Haignere, was launched aboard a Soyuz rocket for a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). She is the crew engineer who is responsible for mooring the cargo ship to the ISS.

The mission is to deliver a docking port called the Svezda, or Star. They also delivered a small crane to be attached to the outside of the Space Station, new spacesuits, other equipment for spacewalks, and French and German scientific gear.