Soyuz MS-10: 'Criminal investigation' underway after failed Russian spacecraft launch

A criminal investigation has been launched following the failed launch of a Russian spacecraft.

Russia is now investigating whether the makers of the Soyuz rocket carrying the spacecraft breached safety regulations during construction, news agency AFP claims.

"An investigative group has been formed and officials are currently examining the launch site, documents are being seized," a committee charged with investigating the incident reportedly wrote in a statement.

The rocket was launched from Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan part of Russia's Roscosmos space program at 2.40pm local time, NASA said.

Occupants American astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Alexei Ovchinin were to dock at the International Space Station six hours later.

The booster however suffered engine failure minutes after the launch, resulting in an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.

"There was an anomaly with the booster and the launch ascent as aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the spacecraft," NASA said.

"Search and rescue teams were deployed to the landing site.

"Hague and Ovchinin are out of the capsule and are reported to be in good condition.”

The capsule landed about 20 kilometres east of the city of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

The astronauts  were flown by helicopter to Dzhezkazgan and will later be taken to Star City, Russia's space training cente outside Moscow.

Pictures released by NASA showed the pair being checked over by medical teams shortly after they were picked up.

"Safety of the crew is the utmost priority for NASA,” NASA said.

"A thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted"

International Space Station commander Alexander Gerst tweeted from orbit after the failed launch.

"Spaceflight is hard. And we must keep trying for the benefit of humankind," he wrote.

Gerst added the mishap shows "what an amazing vehicle the Soyuz is, to be able to save the crew from such a failure".

It's the first space mission for Hague, who joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013.

Ovchinin spent six months on the station in 2016.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the crisis in Ukraine, the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential vote.

Russia and the US have nevertheless maintained cooperation in space.