Soyuz TMA-1 was a Soyuz spacecraft swap at the International Space Station to give the Expedition 5 crew a new lifeboat and emergency return to Earth spacecraft. It continued in this role when Expedition 6 began. It was the first crewed flight of the new Soyuz TMA variant. This was the first and to date only time the Soyuz has been used as a lifeboat for an ISS crew. The Shuttle Columbia accident on February 1, 2003, grounded the Shuttle fleet and forced the Expedition 6 crew to use Soyuz TMA-1 to return home instead of coming home on the next Shuttle flight as planned. During landing, the Soyuz TMA-1 malfunctioned and performed a ballistic reentry, a much steeper and harsher descent to the ground than was planned.