Astronauts safe after malfunctioning Soyuz rocket

Two astronauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that made an emergency landing after their rocket malfunctioned on lift-off to the International Space Station (ISS) are safe, NASA said on Thursday.

The Soyuz MS-10 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS at 4.40 a.m. on Thursday with Russian Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague on board.

According to NASA, there was an "issue with the booster" and the "crew is returning to Earth in a ballistic descent mode", which is a sharper angle of descent compared to normal.

"Shortly after launch, there was an issue with the booster. Teams have confirmed the spacecraft separated from the booster and are in contact with the crew as the capsule returns in a ballistic decent mode," NASA said in a blog post.

"Search and rescue teams report they are in contact with the Soyuz crew, who report they are in good condition. The teams are en route to the landing site."

--IANS

rt/ksk