Ham Astronaut and Cosmonaut Safe After Aborted Launch

US Astronaut Nick Hague,
KG5TMV (NASA photo)

A booster failure soon after the launch of a Soyuz space capsule en route to the International Space Station on October 11 prompted an emergency launch abort and "ballistic" landing of the capsule, according to NASA and other sources. American astronaut Nick Hague, KG5TMV - making his first flight into space - and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin landed safely in Kazakhstan. A ballistic landing is one which is powered only by gravity, with no ability to slow the descent or change course. 

Both NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, are investigating the launch failure.