Is the current ISS crew stranded now?
No. The ISS always has at least one Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to it, for the purpose of evacuating in the event of a major problem with the station, or in the case of a tragedy like this. The Soyuz is a capsule-type craft; the section that returns to Earth is bell- shaped, and can touch down on land or, if necessary, water. Depending on how long the Shuttle fleet is grounded, odds are this is how the current in orbit Expedition Six crew will return to Earth, and at the time of this how their replacements will arrive. According to current ISS support plans, it is expected that in late April or early May the Soyuz TMA-2 will dock with ISS and deliver the Expedition 7 crew. Shortly afterwards, the Expedition 6 crew will land on Earth in the Soyuz TMA-1 currently at the station serving as an escape capsule. In the event of a continued delay in Shuttle flights, plans call for more Expedition teams of two to be ferried to ISS via additional Soyuz TMA-series spacecraft to essentially st
