Russian rocket carrying the crew of the Space Station crashes mid-air

On Thursday, a booster rocket carrying a Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian and a US astronaut bound for the International Space Station crashed mid-flight, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing.

US astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin were inside the rocket. Footage from inside the Soyuz showed the two astronauts being shaken around when the failure occurred, their arms and legs flailing. The rocket was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan’s Soviet-era cosmodrome.

According to a Reuters correspondent who witnessed the launch from around 1 km away, the launch went well in the early stages, and the failure of the booster rockets must have occurred at a higher height.

WRAP-UP:
– Russian Soyuz rocket carrying 2 crewmembers to ISS suffered booster malfunction during launch
– Onboard were cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague of NASA
– The third passenger place was reserved for cargo
– Both crewmen alive and unhurt https://t.co/ebGBVHf3LN pic.twitter.com/hgqaWFrzDt

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— RT (@RT_com) October 11, 2018

According to Russian news outlets, the crew safely made an emergency landing, were in radio communication, and rescuers were on their way to pick them up.

NASA stated, “Search and rescue teams are in the air and heading towards the expected touchdown location for the Soyuz spacecraft returning to Earth carrying two crew members.”

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