The Latest: 'Spaceflight is hard,' station order tweets

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) – The latest astronauts (all times local):

8:35 p.m.

International Space Station commander Alexander Gerst says he is grateful two astronauts are doing well after an exceptionally rare and harrowing launching their journey to the orbiting laboratory.

Gerst, a European Space Agency Astronaut from Germany, "Spaceflight is hard and we need to keep trying for the benefit of humankind."

Alexei Ovchinin from his capsule after an emergency landing. The capsule was jettisoned from a three-stage rocket booster that failed two minutes after liftoff.

Hague and Ovchinin were invited to spend the next half year aboard the International Space Station.

Gerst wrote that the mishap shows "what an amazing vehicle the Soyuz is, to be able to save the crew from such a failure."

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7:45 p.m.

Flight controllers kept the three-space station abreast of the situation after Thursday's aborted launch.

"The boys have landed," Mission Control assured the crew of one American, one German and one Russian.

Two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan after their Soyuz rocket failed two minutes after launch.

Russian controllers told the space station astronauts that NASA 's Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin endured 6.7 times the force of gravity during their steeper than usual entry. It was Hague's first rocket launch.

There was no shortage of information on the space station crew might need to extend its own six-month mission.

Two spacewalks planned for later this month were off indefinitely. Hague was supposed to be one of the spacewalkers.

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6:30 p.m.

NASA says two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia have been flown to the city of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan en route to Moscow after an emergency landing following the failure of a rocket booster carrying them to the International Space Station.

NASA posted pictures of NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Alexei Ovchinin undergoing a medical check-up at Dzhezkazgan's airport. They are to be flown to the Baikonur cosmodrome and then to Moscow City Center.

One of the pictures Dmitry Rogozin.

U.S. and Russian space officials said the astronauts are in good condition after Thursday's aborted launch. They endured higher than usual G-force during the emergency landing.

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6:15 p.m.

The head of Russia's astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are feeling good after an emergency landing.

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin blasted off to the International Space Station Thursday, but their Soyuz booster failed two minutes after the launch and the capsule rescue landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan. The crew endured higher than normal G-force, but Russian and U.S. space officials said they were in good condition.

Oleg Orlov, head of the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems, said the astronauts endured six Gs during the sharp ballistic descent. He added that space crew is trained to endure such loads.

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5:20 p.m.

NASA says two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia will be flown to Moscow after they made an emergency landing.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan Thursday following the failure of a Russian booster rocket carrying them to the International Space Station.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that Hague and Ovchinin are in good condition and will be transported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow.

He added that "a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted."

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5 p.m.

A senior Cabinet official says that Russia is suspending manned space launches a Russian booster rocket failure minutes after the launch.

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin are in the aftermath of a Russian rocket carrying them to the International Space Station.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters that the Soyuz capsule automatically broke down when it failed 123 seconds after the launch of Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

He said that all will be suspended pending investigation into the cause of the failure. Borisov added that Russia will fully share all information with the U.S.

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3:30 p.m.

NASA says two astronauts from the US and Russia are in good condition after a booster rocket failure minutes forced an emergency landing minutes after the launch.

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

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 made aware by the Russian Federation that the crew has made an unspecified location in Kazakhstan and is in good condition. Search and rescue crews are heading to the landing site.

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3 p.m.

Two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are making an emergency landing after a Russian booster rocket carrying them to orbit the International Space Station has failed after launch.

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

They were to dock at the orbiting outpost six hours later, but the booster suffered a failure minutes after the launch.

Russian and U.S. space officials said that the crew is heading for an emergency landing in Kazakhstan at an unspecified time. Search and rescue crews are getting ready to reach the expected landing site.

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2:50 p.m.

A duo of astronauts from the US and Russia has been blasted off for a mission on the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Alexei Ovchinin lifted off scheduled at 2:40 pm (0840 GMT, 4:40 am EDT) Thursday from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop Soyuz booster rocket. Their Soyuz spacecraft will dock at the orbiting outpost six hours later.

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

Relations between Moscow and Washington have been post-Cold War lows over the crisis in Ukraine, the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote, Russia and the US have maintained cooperation in space.