In article d7254a2a-bb4a-444f-89e5-4ebc21969a76
@bl1g2000vbb.googlegroups.com, says...

NASA always looks at contingencies like this. *Hopefully it won't be
necessary to leave ISS unmanned, but it's preferable to leaving
astronauts on ISS without a way to get back. *Marooned is the term for
this, and it's not a good thing deliberately put yourself in that
situation.

nasa never planed for a shuttle stuck at station till after columbia
disaster........ so they didnt look at that contigency.

is it better to have a unmanned station with no control dropping
modules all along its ground track.

or 1 or 2 astronauts marroned at station thats still under control?

Leaving the station unmanned for a period of time is surely safer, at
least for the ISS crew.

Jeff
--
" Ares 1 is a prime example of the fact that NASA just can't get it
up anymore... and when they can, it doesn't stay up long. "
- tinker