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."
Mashable Light SpeedWant more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Thanks for signing up! 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
顶: 67777踩: 19678
Astronauts forced to escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket
人参与 | 时间:2024-09-23 09:28:37
相关文章
- Upgrade Your Monitor, Not Your GPU
- 强化民生领域监督 推进暖心服务送上门
- 记录高山顶上的感人故事
- “非遗”歌舞:展现“民族走廊”的独特魅力
- Webb scientists haven't found a rocky world with air. But now they have a plan.
- 黄晓明获选公益明星 称将来带孩子做公益(图)
- 强化民生领域监督 推进暖心服务送上门
- 宋佳宣传新片自爆情事 被同学暗恋4年
- 13 Places to Find Little Legends and Compact Cryptids
- 解读|地域特征+产品特色+文化特质,三个“特”助力三水渔业高质量发展
评论专区