0 >> i wouldn't say all of it is aimed towards that. of course, any commercial veteran needs to turn a profit in order to stay in business. so it's partially about that. it's partially about helping jeff bezos realize his big picture dream of colonizing what we call sis lunar space, the area between low earth orbit and the moon. this is a small first step for jeff bezos and blue origin, showing that they can launch people successfully into space and they have other rockets and bigger ambitions on the drawing board. if you want to take really big picture view of it, in jeff bezos' mind, this is all about saving planet earth by helping to move industries off planet. but in the shorter term, the company needs to turn a profit in order to keep going. >> and you can see right now, jose -- i want to point out, you can see, in addition to looking at the four astronauts to the left on your screen is jeff bezos. he, of course, is not going to be aboard this craft. i interviewed him after the last launch, and while he said he was ready to go the next day and the day after and wanted to be on many missions going forward, he wanted to let others experience it. but it sure looks like he's going to be with them until the very, very last moment. besides the four of them, it seems to be just jeff. >> sorry, garrett, real quick, there is a difference between space exploration and space tourism. this is a case of space tourism. so far, we don't know, i mean, how much they're paying, who is paying and who is not paying. but going forward, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, just to get a seat on this flight that will give you three minutes of micro -- of no gravity. >> that's right. so it is a lot of money and it's even more money if you want to go up into orbit. so i want to make the distinction between this flight, which is basically 15 minutes, it begins and ends, go straight up, goes straight down. that's suborbital. if you want to go up there and stay up there, like the inspiration 4 mission, upcoming missions where private citizens will go to the space station and stay up there for weeks, you add another zero to the price tag or two zeros to the price tag. this is very expensive. and it's led to some criticism that this is just a bunch of rich people going on joyrides. and there's some validity to that. but i want to point out the other side of the coin, which is that nasa has done this on purpose. nasa has encouraged the growth of these commercial industries, because there's a benefit to the u.s. taxpayer. when you have other people, whether they be rich individuals or organizations that are also sharing the cost of these vehicles, whether it be the "new shepard" rocket or the spacex falcon 9 and dragon rocket, that reduces the cost that nasa has to pay. they don't have to pay it themselves. they've been supportive and encouraging of this commercial approach. and it has led to dividends. i mean, they've paid billions of dollars less money for rockets than if they had all by themselves. >> that's an important point. >> it's a new way of doing this. and on the surface of it, it could be like, oh, look at a bunch of rich guys going on joyrides, but there are real benefits to the american taxpayer. >> we see that jeff bezos is right there at every step of the way. jose, before i let you go, i'm just wondering, these missions do play a part in sparking the imagination. i'm just thinking about you, the son of agricultural workers. you were on the fields at one time, working those fields, and yet you looked up to the moon and you saw apollo 17 and said, that's something that i want to do. there is something to sparking the imagination. >> that's correct, jose. you know, this is why i have so much affection for william shatner, because his series ran from '66 to '69 and i was all of 7 years old when i was watching the first run series of "star trek." that was my first introduction into space exploration. then in 1972, i saw the very last apollo mission, walking on the surface of the moon. and when i was a senior in high school, i heard that the first hispanic american, dr. franklin diaz got selected by nasa as an astronaut. and those were the three pivotal moments where i said, i'm going to be an astronaut. seeing this on tv, there's an 8-year-old somewhere, i'm sure hundreds of them, watching and saying, one day, i'm going to be like that and go to mars and beyond. so this inspires our youth. we know that technology is the heartbeat of any economy. and so space exploration is -- it pushes the envelope of technology and innovation, so i think it's great. anytime we can get private industry to invest a dollar in space exploration, it's a dollar less that the u.s. taxpayer, that you and i have to pay. i think that's great, as well. >> we now have just under 26 minutes to go. there was that temporary hold, but now jeff bezos is shaking hands with the astronauts. it looks like he's giving a final hug to audrey powers right now. tom costello, speak to that. besides william shatner, captain kirk, talk about who's onboard. because audrey power, she's been with blue origin since 2013. she played a lead role in this multi-year process of getting approval for the first human flight for "new shepard." >> is that to tom costello? i couldn't hear who you were asking? >> you, tom costello. talk to us about who's onboard besides william shatner. >> you talked about audrey power, who is a pilot, but not a nasa-trained astronaut, by any means. a veteran of blue origin. she will be the last person to board the space capsule. they board from the highest seat numbered down. so six, five, four, three, two, one. they've only got four people onboard. and william shatner just boarded a few minutes ago. and chris bosshousen. she's the cofounder of planet labs, and glen de vries, and a cofounder of meta data. those two guys allegedly paid about $250,000 each. what they're doing now, strapping in, they have practiced dozens of times. over and over and over again, because they don't want to screw up, right? and one of the biggest challenges is, it's easy enough to strap in before you launch. the challenge is going to be once you're actually at altitude and you're in space, unstrap, get out of your harness, you've got three minutes to float. and then quickly jump back in and harness back in. and these are reclining seats. you know, it's not like you're getting into a comfortable seat at the dining table. it's a little more challenging. and listen, we've talked about the fact that william shatner is 90 years old and in incredible shape. you know, you would think you're talking to a 50-year-old. but he's 90. and so jumping in and out of one of those reclining seats with a five-point harness, that's not easy. i did it myself in the simulator. it's not easy. you can't do it really quickly. that's why they practice it over and over and over again, so that, in fact, they are ready for the descent. because their remote controlled from the ground. they can't tell everybody, hey, okay, we'll wait another minute until you're strapped in. no, once they start descending, they're descending. so that's why they have gone through this so many times, over and over and over again, to make sure that these guys are ready to do it. >> tom, i mean, we're including 5gs on the downward path, right? this is stuff that is kind of intense on your body. >> reporter: yeah, it's a mach 3 experience. listen, it's not as intense as, you know, if you're going the space station and then you're coming back or, you know -- it's not that intense, because they haven't gone as high, so your descent is not going to be quite as dramatic, but absolutely, especially given the age. listen, 82-year-old wally funk did it just fine back in july. no issues. william shatner is 90. he's in great shape. but all of these are considerations as you would expect. but listen, as we said earlier, this is kind of an exciting moment, because it's william shatner. because it's his life coming full circle, 55 years ago. he was beginning his "star trek" career as the captain of the enterprise and he has said -- he said it to me on camera, now his life is coming full circle. 55 years later. he's actually going into space, and that's what makes this fun for him and fun for us to join him along the way. >> 9:10 in texas, just a few moments from now, we're just over 21 minutes. still with us is our all-star panel. also, morgan chesky near the launch site, a former nasa astronauts may jenison, scott kelly, clayton emerson, and leroy chow. >> i want to bring in former nasa astronaut, a man who has spent a whole lot of time in space, scott kelly. scott, for someone like you, this is exciting. for science enthusiasts, they are thrilled to watch this. why should the average american care? >> well, i think when you fly flights like this, you know, with a celebrity or some other person that gets some extra attention, you just show the public how the accessibility of spaceflight is becoming more broad. hopefully, eventually, the cost will come down. i don't think these flights mean we're going to be jumping on a rocket like we jump on airplanes anytime soon, but it is a step in that direction. >> clayton, i want to ask you as we're looking at this, one of the things i'm particularly fascinated by is the size of the windows on the capsule. this is clearly designed so that people can enjoy the view, as short as three minutes can be in zero gravity. it must be extraordinary to see so much of something that, well, we're never able to see from down here. the organization and the way this capsule has been designed is clearly so that people can see as much as possible. >> reporter: -- in the short time, if you think back to 1961, when alan shepard first went, windows were a big controversial item, because they were expensive to put in and they didn't think they were needed. so the fact that these guys are going to spend about 11 minutes in space and they get to look out these gorgeous windows, i would love to be up there to see it again, but i think all it's going to do is whet their appetite and they're going to be longing for more. >> leroy, i want to bring you back in. i believe it was jose who said it earlier. this isn't like commercial airlines. this type of commercial private space travel is largely unregulated. and while blue origin -- you know, i spoke to mark bezos, who was part of that first maiden voyage, jeff bezos' brother, and he said from culture to engineering to training, safety is the absolutely number one priority for blue origin. but safety without regulation, how concerned are you? >> it's not that there's no regulation. the faa has, you know, oversight of all flying things. even launched from foreign shores, if it's an american company. so there definitely is faa oversight. there's not probably to the degree of commercial airliners, but commercial aviation is very mature. and so i think it's not natural to see this nascent industry, it's going to evolve to more strict regulation, just like for the airlines. as far as safety goes, these commercial companies, blue origin, certainly, and the others that are involved. they know that if they have an accident early on, especially, they're done. they're probably going to be shut down and it's not going to be good. so they are going to be concentrating on making sure that the flights are safe, the vehicle is as safe as possible, and getting the people back healthy and happy. >> what is it that these four people are going to be experiencing for those three minutes? years ago, years ago, i was onboard the spasta, nasa's zero gravity airplane, where they did praables, 30 to 60 seconds of zero gravity as they went on this arch. is that what they'll be experiencing for three minutes, may? >> that's basically what you're going to see. because by the time you actually get up and come back down, you get that three minutes of zero gs. so there will be the excitement of that. looking out the window, doing everything, somersaults, whatever you want to do, and get back into place. of course, you'll be looking out at the horizon. it's not going to be looking out at the horizon, for me, it's going to be looking at the earth and trying to encapsulate all that means. i wanted to do a little bit of whimsy. you talked about william shatner being on "star trek," and of course, i was a "star trek" fan growing up, but i was also able to be on "star trek: the next generation" after i had flown in space, so this whole generation of where stories and reality influence each other is really important, because "star trek" started after we already had a space program going. and it helped to reinforce all that could occur and people's excitement and involvement. >> scott kelly, watching this, how do you feel about this personally? did you think in your lifetime, we would see this private industry? there right now, you are watching jeff bezos close the door for the last time. you saw all four passengers of this unmanned flight indoors, they closed the door, and it was bezos himself who closed it. scott, can you tell us -- can you help us understand what we're looking at? >> well, i think it's exciting for the people inside the rocket. it's actually exciting for me, too. one of my earliest memories was watching apollo 11 land on the moon, but also my memory was crawling downstairs to sit behind the couch where my mother couldn't see my brother and i watching "star trek." so i'm excited to see william shatner to be able to have this opportunity. so hopefully, i would like to see some kids get up there with some science experiments, maybe some make-a-wish foundation people. but, yeah, this is bringing space accessibility to a much more broader audience. >> did you think you would see it in your lifetime, scott? >> i think so. i hope to have a couple of decades at least ahead of me. so if you think back about when we flew the first airplane in 1903. and 1969, we're landing people on the moon, that's an impressive feat. who knows what the next 20 or 30 years will bring us. >> morgan chesky, what are you excited see today? >> reporter: well, jose, we were back here in late july and we saw this inaugural flight take off with jeff bezos onboard. and i would have to tell you, having witnessed one of these, that it would be lessened somewhat. but to stand here just a few miles away from this launch pad and see captain kirk hop onboard that capsule, this is a nervous, exciting energy starting to build here, especially as we see that countdown clock hit 15 minutes after that hold of about half an hour here. and of course anyone had any question about the impact of william shatner onboard this flight, look no further than what was inside the media hanger here. "star trek" cookies themselves. the badge right there. everyone just fully soaking in this moment. we're about to see the oldest person go into space right now. and if everything goes according to plan, it will be a carbon copy of what we witnessed in late july with that first flight coming back down with a soft landing there. and i have to tell you, jose, the thing that sticks with me the most is the excitement of the crew members that were onboard that capsule when they walked after experiencing that short but oh, so sweet flight. you could see it all over their faces. >> morgan, as we're chatting, i want to go over and see -- jeff bezos closed that door, but there are some crew people outside door. there is a hold that's now a minute and 34 seconds into, you can see the t-15 has been frozen there. so there's something going on. we can't exactly know what. but some crew members and some people were right outside the door of the capsule. maybe communicating to some of the people inside. the four astronauts inside. we don't know what it is, but we do see that hold is now coming up on two minutes from the 15-minute countdown that has been stopped. as you can see, they're right outside that door. at least two people there. >> leroy, what do you make of that? it's not weather related or we don't believe it is. for people inside, when they're making any sort of equipment adjustments, i don't know, that seems scary. >> certainly, you know, at this point, we're getting close to launch and there's another hold. we're not really sure why. the fact that it came right after the door closed might indicate that there's something with the mechanism that they're just being sure about. maybe the close indicator did flip fully over or something like that. so they're probably communicating with the crew, telling them what's going on, and meanwhile, you see the two people outside are working around that hatch area. probably just making sure that it is sealed. so we'll have to wait for word from blue origin to let us know exactly what's going on. >> and scott, i mean, that hatch was closed so quickly by jeff bezos, how -- i mean these things have to be really, really sealed well. >> well, hopefully he had the proper training on hatch closure. i imagine he did. these things happen. on my second flight, we couldn't tell whether the hatch was physically closed. the ground couldn't tell. we thought it was, but the way we found out is eventually, we just put one of the closeout crew guys inside the space shuttle, to then examine all the hardware of the hatch from inside, and then we opened the hatch up, he jumped out, we closed it and we launched. these things happen. it's not that unexpected. >> one of the many things they do to prepare for this, even the morning of, is sort of a last-minute medical check. may, help us understand the kind of message clearance one needs. william shatner, for example, is not a trained astronaut. and while he's a beloved american, he's 90 years old. >> i don't actually know what all the checks are that they do, but what you want to do is to make sure that people's blood pressure was within reason, that there's no new abnormalities with their heart. you want to make sure their sensory perception is normal. but normally you would have done that all before. and you'll know what kind of condition they're in before you suggest or nominate them for the mission. i think it's going to be a relatively cursory check, but just to make sure nothing has happened unforeseen between when you last checked them, and as you heard, you'll be going through additional 5g, you'll go through 3g, have a lot of disorientation from microgravity. so you want to make sure everything is working normally. so it's going to be a cursory check, not a deep check. >> and the four people inside have very little to do, right? there's no pre-check stuff that they have to do to make sure that the capsule and the whole rocket is good. scott, i'm just wondering, zero gravity, you experience it more than anybody else. but even three minutes does affect your body. >> yeah, it will have an effect. it might make them feel a little bitdisoriented. probably not enough time for them to physically get sick in that period of time. if i can encourage them, though, i would say, look out the window. because that's something that you can't recreate on earth. you can do a little bit of zero g in the airplane like the vomit comet. so i just spend my time looking out the window if i had the opportunity. >> scott, what is it like for that moment when you're inside the spacecraft and you can no longer see the ground? because as someone who watched that launch over the summer, that was a moment of panic for so many of us, to see the spacecraft, and suddenly, it was gone. >> yeah, you know, that happens sometimes. i remember when i was in kazakhstan for the expedition 1 launch, they launched right into a fog bank and the rocket was gone. so, you know, sometimes you go to see a rocket launch and it doesn't last very long, but it looks like really good weather today, at least as far as the ceiling