system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[The Stand] What happened to the astronauts in space?

I mean, what happens to them when the world dies of superflu? Do they risk coming back, or do they just die up there in orbit?
gpt
They have methods of returning to earth without Mission Control being involved, they're just super-risky without things like weather forecasting and ground recovery support. 

But then, staying in orbit without resupply is a death sentence. So they're in a "pick your poison" sort of zone: Either stay safe from Captain Tripps and die in space, or risk return and possibly die during reentry or landing, and then probably die of Captain Tripps once down on the ground.