Contrary to these projections, the crewmembers have spent four years training for the experience together at Star City, and they continue to get along extremely well. They are all very enthusiastic about their cooperative mission as the first residents of space. They had been pushing for a name for years, but had not come to a conclusion for fear of disagreement. According to the New York Times, head of NASA Daniel Goldin was opposed to any name other than international space station, but finally laughed and told the men to go ahead and call the space station Alpha for their four-month mission. It remains to be seen whether this will remain the permanent name for the station.
Alpha is spoken the same in both Russian and English, but with different spellings.
The concept of a space station came about over a decade before it's name was ever a dispute. In the 1984 State of the Union Address, President Reagan called for the construction of such a space station. However, because of the high nature of the expense, it was delayed until 1993 when the Clinton administration collaborated with Russia on the venture. Russia's economic difficulties brought about two more years of delay before the station was finally built. Female astronaut Susan Helms will travel to Alpha in February, while Carl Walz will follow next fall.