Booster rockets carrying a Soyuz spacecraft with a Russian and a US astronaut on board headed for the International Space Station failed mid-air on Thursday, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing.
NASA said that the crew was safe and was making an emergency landing in Kazakhstan where the unsuccessful launch took place.
"The crew is returning to Earth in a ballistic descent mode," wrote NASA, noting that the descent would take place at a steeper angle than usual, but that rescue crews were en route to the expected scene of the landing.
Both crew members are safe and in good condition, and have been retrieved from the Soyuz booster.
.@AstroHague, right, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, left, embrace their families after landing in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Hague and Ovchinin arrived after a safe landing on Earth following a Soyuz booster failure during launch earlier. Look: https://t.co/MzoA9TOqXk pic.twitter.com/mZqIiL7RYi
— NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2018
I could not be more proud of the @NASA family today. So many great people, properly trained and equipped, operated effectively according to procedure to make sure our crew got home safely to their families. It's truly humbling to lead this incredible agency. https://t.co/8uFDOr4T3g
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) October 11, 2018
Astronaut Nick Hague of @NASA (left) is welcomed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine after landing safely in Kazakhstan following the failure of Soyuz rocket booster. https://t.co/tRYU6iFG7Q pic.twitter.com/0lqUb5RKo7
— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) October 11, 2018
Earlier:
The crew remains in good condition and in touch with ground rescue teams, according to NASA.
International groups of astronauts often accompany each other to the International Space Station in joint launches.
The search and rescue teams have reached the Soyuz spacecraft landing site and report that the two crew members are in good condition and are out of the capsule. Search and rescue teams are with the crew now. Latest updates: https://t.co/mzKW5uDsTi pic.twitter.com/WzomVblhtI
— NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2018
.@ROSCOSMOS is forming a State Commission to investigate today's Soyuz launch incident. https://t.co/eG2v2XbyYU
— NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2018
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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