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US astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, members of the mission team aboard the rocket before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket in the Baikonur cosmodrome rented by Russia, to Kazakhstan, Thursday 11th, 2018.
(Yuri Kochetkov, photo of the pool via AP)
An American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Thursday after the launch of a Russian booster rocket carrying them to the International Space Station shortly after its launch.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos were in good condition after an emergency landing in Kazakhstan, NASA officials said.
The pair took off in Kazakhstan around 14:40. local time of the Baikonur cosmodrome, rented by Russia, at the top of a Soyuz booster rocket.
The pair had to dock at the space station six hours after the launch, but the booster rocket failed a few minutes after launch.
According to NASA, Russian space officials informed the agency that its crew had made an emergency landing in an unspecified place in Kazakhstan and was in good condition.
The search and rescue teams were heading to the landing site.
Thursday's mission was to be the first in The Hague. Ovchinin spent six months on this station in 2016. The Hague joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
