BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan – A NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut are safe back on Earth after their launch to the International Space Station was aborted due to a problem with a Russian Soyuz rocket booster.
International Space Station operation manager Kenny Todd and Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office Reid Wisemen held a briefing at noon from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the emergency abort.
Here's what we learned:
The cause of the failure is unknown.
Wisemen, who has launched on the Russian Soyuz rocket, said American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin would have experienced six to seven times Earth's gravity when the Soyuz capsule was automatically aborted.
"I hope they get down safe," Wisemen said he was thinking when he saw the abort, adding when he "heard the first calls from the crew, that was a huge relief."
There was radio silence from the crew after the abort for several minutes, he said.
Reid said this is a "good news story" because the crew is back on the ground and reunited with their families, adding, "We’re well-trained for an abort."
Russian forces were on the ground when the space capsule landed, Todd said.
Todd said Roscosmos is working on assembling a commission that will investigate the failure and determine what happened. He couldn't provide a timeline or when Soyuz will be able to launch again, saying investigations of this kind depend on the available data from the flight and could take up to six months.
Russian media is reporting a criminal investigation has been launched into the Soyuz MS10 failure; however, Todd said he has no knowledge of that.
The current crew on the space station, could stay until January and return on the Soyuz space capsule docked at the ISS. There is some margin there, but not much, Todd said.
If NASA and Roscosmos cannot launch astronauts to the space station it could be uncrewed for a "significant time," Todd said.
Here's the latest on the failed space launch carrying two astronauts (all times local to Kazakhstan).
8:35 p.m.
International Space Station commander Alexander Gerst says he is grateful two astronauts are doing well after an exceedingly rare and harrowing launch abort ended their journey toward the orbiting laboratory.
Gerst, a European Space Agency astronaut from Germany, tweeted from orbit after the failed launch: "Spaceflight is hard. And we must keep trying for the benefit of humankind."
He thanked the rescue force that arrived quickly to retrieve American Nick Hague and Russian Alexei Ovchinin from their capsule after an emergency landing. The capsule was jettisoned from a three-stage booster rocket that failed two minutes after liftoff.
Hague and Ovchinin were supposed 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."
7:45 p.m.
Flight controllers kept the three space station residents abreast of the situation after Thursday's aborted launch.
"The boys have landed," Mission Control assured the crew consisting 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 immediate word on whether 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.
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 booster rocket 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 on to Star City space training center outside Moscow.
One of the pictures showed Hague smiling and another had him sitting next to Russia's space agency chief 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.
6:15 p.m.
The head of Russia's top space medicine center says that two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are feeling good after an emergency landing.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin blasted off as scheduled to the International Space Station Thursday, but their Soyuz booster failed two minutes after the launch and the rescue capsule 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, the head of the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems, Russia's top space medicine research center, said in televised remarks that the astronauts endured six Gs during the sharp ballistic descent. He added that space crew is trained to endure such loads.
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."
5 p.m.
A senior Cabinet official says that Russia is suspending manned space launches pending a probe into a Russian booster rocket failure minutes after the launch.
U.S. and Russian space officials said NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin are safe after an emergency landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan following the failure of a Russian booster rocket carrying them to the International Space Station.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters that the Soyuz capsule automatically jettisoned from the booster when it failed 123 seconds after the launch from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
He said all manned launches will be suspended pending an investigation into the cause of the failure. Borisov added that Russia will fully share all relevant information with the U.S.
4 p.m.
NASA released a statement after a Russian booster rocket on a mission to the International Space Station failed after launch.
The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 4:40 a.m. EDT Thursday, October 11 (2:40 p.m. in Baikonur) carrying American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. Shortly after launch, there was an anomaly with the booster and the launch ascent was aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the spacecraft.
Search and rescue teams were deployed to the landing site. Hague and Ovchinin are out of the capsule and are reported to be in good condition. They will be transported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia outside of Moscow.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the NASA team are monitoring the situation carefully. NASA is working closely with Roscosmos to ensure the safe return of the crew. Safety of the crew is the utmost priority for NASA. A thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted.
3:30 p.m.
NASA says that two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are in good condition after an emergency landing following 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.
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.
3 p.m.
Two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are making an emergency landing after a Russian booster rocket carrying them into orbit to the International Space Station has failed after 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.
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.
2:50 p.m.
A duo of astronauts from the U.S. and Russia has blasted off for a mission on the International Space Station.
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. 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 sunk to 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, but Russia and the U.S. have maintained cooperation in space.
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