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How many people can fit on the ISS? At what person would life support be overwhelmed?

Muze
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    The number of astronauts is limited by the number of simultaneously docked Soyuz capsules at the ISS. For each astronaut there should be a seat in docked Soyuz if an emergency evacuation is necessary. – Uwe Mar 16 '19 at 20:23
  • @Uwe could you survive re-entry without a seat? – Muze Mar 16 '19 at 21:48
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    Highly related: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/21759/how-many-times-were-there-thirteen-people-inside-the-iss-is-it-hard-on-the-stat/21760#21760 An answer there says the limit is 12. – Organic Marble Mar 17 '19 at 00:00
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    @Muze you cannot reenter safely in a Soyuz without a custom fitted seat liner https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/12926/can-a-single-soyuz-return-a-crew-of-six-back-to-earth – Organic Marble Mar 17 '19 at 00:04
  • @OrganicMarble https://space.stackexchange.com/a/12962/18879 – Muze Mar 17 '19 at 01:07
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    @Muze that answer does not address the seat liner issue. https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/21310/could-astronauts-wear-eva-suits-in-the-soyuz/21312#21312 – Organic Marble Mar 17 '19 at 01:10
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    @Muze you cannot fit more than 3 people into a Soyuz. There just isn't enough room for that. – Hobbes Mar 17 '19 at 08:34
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    Anecdote: During video calls where all (up to ~13) astronauts onboard gather in one spot, the combined CO2 output can overwhelm the module’s life support and start to cause CO2 poisoning symptoms. – CourageousPotato Mar 20 '21 at 20:31

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The most that have been on the ISS at one time is 13 persons, but only for a short duration during crew changeover. Reference: www.space.com/6503-population-space-historic-high-13.html

Dale
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