NASA fears leaving space station unmanned

WASHINGTON (By Jean-Louis Santini, AFP) — The possible first-ever evacuation of the International Space Station, if a Russian spacecraft is not launched in November, would risk the loss of the orbiting lab, a NASA official has warned.

"There is a greater risk of losing the ISS when it's unmanned than if it were manned," Michael Suffredini, the ISS program manager for the US space agency, said on a conference call with reporters.

"The risk increase is not insignificant," he added.