NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin landed safely after their rocket malfunctioned and made an emergency landing.
A Russian booster rocket suddenly malfunctioned and made an emergency landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan. It was carrying them to the International Space Station. The booster, which was a three-stage Soyuz one, suffered an emergency shutdown in its second stage, which made the capsule to jettison from the booster and go up to a ballistic descent. This bullet speed descent made the booster to land at a much sharper angle than normal which subjected the crew to heavy gravitational forces.
NASA was real quick to react as its evacuation team quickly reached the steppes, and rescued both the crew members, who were found in safe and sound condition.
Mr. Putin, the Russian President’s spokesperson said, “Thank God the crew is alive.” He also informed that Mr. Putin himself was getting regular updates about the mission. However, this mishap has raised some serious questions about the Russian space programs. There has been a string of launch failures and other mishaps in the recent years, and the Russian Roscosmos space agency might get in severe trouble for this.
Source- ABC.net
