Booster Rocket Failure Prompts Emergency Landing, 2 Astronauts In Good Condition

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BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) - NASA says that two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are in good condition after an emergency landing following a booster rocket failure minutes after the launch.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin lifted off as scheduled at 2:40 p.m. (0840 GMT; 4:40 a.m. EDT) Thursday from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz booster rocket.

(Photo Courtesy: @Space_Station/Twitter)

They were to dock at the International Space Station six hours later, but the booster suffered engine failure minutes after the launch.

NASA said it has been informed by Russian space officials that the crew has made an emergency landing at an unspecified location in Kazakhstan and is in good condition. Search and rescue crews are heading to the landing site.

This was supposed to be the first space mission for Hague, who joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013. Ovchinin spent six months on the station in 2016.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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