Astronauts make emergency landing after Russian rocket carrying them to International Space Station fails

An American and Russian astronaut have survived an emergency landing in Kazakhstan after the Soyuz rocket carrying them to the International Space Station failed in mid-flight.

The latest in a long string of Russian rocket crashes, Thursday's star-crossed flight is yet another black eye for the Roscosmos space agency, which remains the only reliable way to get to the ISS.

The Russian-made rocket began to plummet to earth a little more than two minutes into the six-hour mission due to a “vehicle malfunction”.

The engines were seen to cut out in the air, after which the Soyuz MS-10 spaceship holding Russian commander Alexei Ovchinin and Nasa astronaut Nick Hague jettisoned from the drifting launch vehicle.

An internal camera showed the capsule jerking the pair around violently as the flight malfunctioned.