Astronauts forced to escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin have been forced to return to Earth in "ballistic descent mode" after their Soyuz rocket's booster malfunctioned shortly after launch, NASA announced Thursday.
The two crewmembers were launching on a trip to the International Space Station when the failure occured. Both are safe and back on the ground.
"The Soyuz capsule is returning to Earth via a ballistic descent, which is a sharper angle of landing compared to normal," the agency tweeted.
"Search and rescue teams are heading towards the expected touchdown location of the spacecraft and crew."
Tweet may have been deleted
There's no word on what, exactly, caused the Soyuz's booster to malfunction, but NASA and Russia will now investigate the root cause of the action.
The latest from NASA is that search and rescue teams are in contact with the two astronauts, who are "in good condition."
The crew was scheduled stay on the space station for six months.
SEE ALSO:Astronaut captures photos of ominous-looking Hurricane Florence from spaceIt's now unclear exactly what will happen next for the space station program. NASA, Russia, and other partner countries rely on these crews to perform experiments and staff the station continuously.
In fact, the station has played host to a crew every day since 2000.
Tweet may have been deleted
The failure today will create a serious planning problem for the station managers as they try to figure out how to keep the orbiting outpost staffed in the coming months.
NASA has also been trying to wean off using Soyuz rockets at all, instead funding contracts with Boeing and SpaceX to create a fleet of vehicles to fly astronauts to and from the station instead of relying on Russia.
We'll have to wait and see how this mishap affects those plans, if at all.
Miriam Kramer contributed to this story.
UPDATE: Oct. 11, 2018, 9:11 a.m. EDT This story was updated with more context and information about the mishap.
Featured Video For You
Take a look at the first space suit that let Americans walk in space
-
'Please find her': Man dies amid 25加强感恩教育阵地建设 强化感恩教育系列活动芦山灾区电网“换新颜”Is anyone buying Donald Trump’s debate impression of a smallBest Labor Day headphones deals: Apple, Bose, Beats, and more on saleBrad Pitt feels caged by the name BradSean Parker bodyTwo buses detected crossing into China from N. KoreaCicadas love to land on people. Experts explain why.NK media advise avoiding crowded areas in anti
下一篇:Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- ·First officially approved Gen IV nuclear reactor in the US breaks ground
- ·N. Korea's Kim invites Putin to visit Pyongyang; Putin accepts: state media
- ·Donald Trump could have been president. Don't forget it.
- ·结合宣传思想文化工作 把学习教育引向深入
- ·The Composer Has No Clothes
- ·Uber finally shows upfront pricing, following in Lyft's footsteps
- ·The key political and cultural events of the last 20 years, in The Angle.
- ·Your star sign actually determines how you use your iPhone, trust us
- ·Where to pre
- ·Moon expects ‘unified message’ by G
- ·Moon expects ‘unified message’ by G
- ·NK resumes sports diplomacy to brand itself as 'normal state'
- ·First officially approved Gen IV nuclear reactor in the US breaks ground
- ·A brief history of Tim Kaine’s eyebrow.
- ·US Forces Korea reports new infections, total 12
- ·Some iPhone X owners report green line display flaw
- ·Yoon, US Senate's armed service committee chief discuss alliance, N.K. threats
- ·Trump just rattled off the greatest hits of his incoherent foreign policy.
- ·Cuttington University: Commencement on the campus that survived the Liberian civil war and Ebola.
- ·Police beat me and told me I'd never play football again, says Maguire
- ·Travel Back in Time and Uncover Old
- ·NK fires 2 short
- ·China's Baidu just released the most sexist self
- ·In desperation, N. Korea, Russia turn to one another for mutual assistance rivaling US
- ·Webb telescope just snapped image of huge black hole gobbling material
- ·汤飞:商业竞争的基本单位是品牌