1
00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:07,560
On October 11th 2018, after more than two
years of preparation

2
00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:12,640
NASA's Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin of
Roscosmos suited up for their flight to

3
00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,560
the International Space Station.

4
00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,500
The  Soyuz rocket lifted off from the

5
00:00:18,510 --> 00:00:23,760
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and a
climb to orbit went perfectly, for the

6
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:28,859
first two minutes, until one of the Soyuz
rockets strap-on boosters failed to

7
00:00:28,860 --> 00:00:33,560
properly separate from the rockets first
stage, triggering a launch abort.

8
00:00:34,649 --> 00:00:38,040
The spacecraft carrying
Hague and Ovchinin pulled free from the

9
00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,980
first stage and flew on a ballistic
trajectory that touched the edge of

10
00:00:41,980 --> 00:00:47,160
space, before floating under parachutes
to a safe landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

11
00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,380
A short time later Hagan and
Ovchinin were picked up by Russian search

12
00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:55,559
and recovery teams, then flown back to
Baikonur for a reunion with their

13
00:00:55,559 --> 00:01:00,030
families, and greetings from NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the

14
00:01:00,030 --> 00:01:04,379
head of Roscosmos, Dmitri Rogozin, who
promised the men they would be assigned

15
00:01:04,379 --> 00:01:09,030
to another Soyuz flight to the station.
In December the station partnership

16
00:01:09,030 --> 00:01:14,549
announced that Hagan and Ovchinin would fly
in March 2019, this time joined by NASA's

17
00:01:14,549 --> 00:01:20,610
Christina Koch to become a part of
Expeditions 59 and 60.  A few weeks ago,

18
00:01:20,610 --> 00:01:25,110
Hague, Koch and Ovchinin wrapped up their work at
the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in

19
00:01:25,110 --> 00:01:30,150
Star City, Russia, and passed their final
exams, then left for Baikonur and final