Initially a three-person Russian Soyuz capsule (or possibly two) will be permanently at the ready as a "lifeboat" to ferry astronauts away from the station should problems develop. Eventually, however, NASA's eight-person X-38 Crew Return Vehicle, now under development, will serve the purpose.
Note: The main image shows the Crew Return Vehicle attached below the U.S. habitation module in an earlier configuration; current designs have the spacecraft docking on Node 3, which will hang off Unity.
NASA is now developing the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle as an emergency lifeboat for astronauts residing aboard the space station.
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