Blue Origin attempts rocket launch with all-female crew | NBC News
their way Absolutely As they load in um I will in my world we call it an audible here Uh just if we have any sound from mission control or anything I'd love to take a a peek at what's going on in there and and just give the folks at home some idea of what's happening um there And there we go There we go So we don't have sound of it but uh we can see all of the the brain behind behind this beast But I could tell you Cararissa other than a couple of uh a a couple of discussion points on the radio honestly it's about this quiet when you're in there Really that surprises me cuz you would think like you know in a control room in TV it's a chaos right In in in the best way but in there it's it's quiet And honestly as chaos is quite frankly the last word I would use to describe our mission control this team they're working through very specific procedures on a very specific timeline They've done their own rehearsals over and over again Um we also want to keep the communication line open if anything you know if anybody's got to call it out Um but it's uh it is a a very well choreographed team we've got And you know when folks are wondering you know what what exact two days of this space flight done rehearsals and dry everything that you're seeing here They practice over and over getting inside this capsule strapping themselves in And you know one of the biggest things that they have to remember to do is when they get those remember they only get four minutes of weightlessness four precious minutes um they have to unbuckle and then buckle back in at the exact right moment So those are some of the things that they're learning to do and practicing while they're uh while they're training in that building right behind us Uh as we look at New Shepard 31 uh the 31st mission the 11th human flight here for Blue Origin we are t-minus 30 minutes Carissa Thompson Kristen Fischer Arian Cornell with us and Tabitha Lipkin at the tower Um I am going to be leaving here in just a few minutes I'm going to go to Fallback 3 uh an area Then uh I will wait for the capsule to land I'll wait for the recovery team to come out and then bring you interviews from each of our astronauts uh as they arrive back here on Earth I cannot wait for that Um again we've seen them load now into the capsule and I just would love you know some more playbyplay Ariana of sort of what now this process looks like as it's all new to me And for any of you that uh are also joining us for your first launch welcome And now we'll let the experts tell us what's going on So you saw uh them loading You saw them loading into the capsule Uh they are getting into their seats They're getting into their harnesses It's a five-point harness So clicking them all in Uh all right we're hearing that Capcom right now Sorry to interrupt you Arian which is short for capsule communicator And ready to do the astronaut comm check So let's take a listen Laura Styles has the mic I'm going to Get failed to look great Right Heat Okay Right Heat Heat Welcome back everybody We are at T-minus 26 minutes and 50 seconds to go until NS31 New Blue Origin's 31st mission for our New Shepard rocket Our 11th human flight I'm Arian Cornell here with Kristen Fischer at the desk Carissa Thompson has left uh to get into place for uh her viewing spot for the launch We are waiting on Capcom or the capsule communicator to run the comm's check with our uh our astronauts But Kristen we were just talking a second ago about you know what's going on here You see our crew member 7 Sarah Knights who's coming uh out of the capsule there She uh has helped load our crew into the capsule Uh has done a just a double check making sure those uh those seat belts are nice and tight Uh as well as make sure that the earpieces and everything uh are set for our astronauts Um I should note just as we give kind of a beautiful we got this beautiful aerial shots this morning of the rocket Um we have these sun shades you see on the uh at the top of the capsule that kind of white square We've got one there in the foreground and coming around you'll see another one on the back Um those windows are so large um that it can kind of act like a greenhouse in there and especially down here in the West Texas desert it can get a bit toasty in there So we've got some uh some nice sun shade for their comfort And I love that we can see some of the the crew mates inside the capsule as they're getting strapped in I think you could see Lauren Sanchez right to the the left of the hatch right there uh from that camera shot So pretty cool that you can you can see them this close to uh to lifting off You know Arian I have to say experience I'm so excited for you I don't want to get off I want to go with you And when you get back I can't wait to hear how it's changed you I love all of you See you soon Godspeed Credum feroc And there you heard it some uh some words of support from Jeff Bezos uh founder of Blue Origin also astronaut himself from our first launch So uh of course Lauren Sanchez is uh is Jeff's fiance one of his one of her supporters who as we mentioned before we've got lots of friends and family that are supporting the rest of the astronauts here They are out at the viewing tower Let's turn it over to Tabitha Tabitha have you had a chance to chat with some of the family members out there You know a lot of friends and family have come out here and it is an exciting vibe I am standing by with two women who need no introduction And Chris I have to start with you What is it like to be here And what brought you all the way out here to this launch Well uh Lauren and Jeff we're here to support our girlfriend and our friends And I never thought that we'd be talking to you from space launch for sure So this is a really unique experience And we're just so honored to be here to support them and and watch this amazing part of history and I'm so proud of her and I just feel all of the female astronauts that are going to go up today It's such a big day in history and it's so empowering especially my daughter is seven and just to see something like this and I mean somebody said their grandfather was here that's 92 and they didn't even have um transportation back then the way that we do now and now they're going to space It's pretty amazing That's Aisha's grandfather 92 came all the way here That's where the story I was like I heard this story and you know he had to he had no airplanes nothing back in his day Now he's seeing his granddaughter go into space That's a beautiful thing Really incredible And how does it feel also to be able to share this with multi-generations within your family It's really something It's just um Kim keeps writing us because she was supposed to be here with us and she's studying for law school so she had a big test that she had to take again Something I'm very proud of But she just keeps calling going such FOMO Tell me every minute of it So it's very inspirational and just super proud of of the girls every one of them And it's a very brave thing to do And I think it also just says something like Chloe said to our my 13 grandchildren Yeah And what can you say to that too to your for your children Oh I just Yeah I just think it's really whatever you dream of is it is in our reach especially in today's day and age And dream big wish for the stars and one day you can maybe be amongst them That's so beautiful And just before I send it back any last messages to the astronauts before they take off H I think just great luck Be present I mean I'm so excited I love the messaging that we keep receiving from the staff here at Blue Origin is don't film it through your phones look through your eyes be as present as possible They will supply all the content that we need and to give to our families But I love just being in the moment Yeah same And we're going to excited Yeah we are so excited We're going to be in the moment too here We're going to send it back to you guys at the desk and we're going to start watching Love you ladies Good luck Bye We we had no idea that Chris and Chloe were going to be here Uh and we're about to be interviewed by Tabitha So that was a nice little treat They sure look the part you know Oh they're ready for their day out here in Texas I love it Yeah And you know for for those of you watching we are really in the middle of the desert We're a solid 2hour drive from El Paso And as you were saying yesterday Arian you know you really get the sense like you start in El Paso and the more you get out here you do start to feel like you're on another planet I mean it's got quite a moonscape Marscape vibe And our guests that are here today as we just saw in Chris and Chloe are dressing the part Well so let's get bring it back to the the real stars of the show our astronauts And one of our astronauts that we haven't heard from yet is Gail King She has obviously a lot of emotions going into this flight Let's hear what she has to say from this interview with Tab Tabitha Lympin just a couple of days ago When I made the decision to come there were only three people whose opinion matters to me the most Favorite daughter Kirby favorite son Will and Oprah That's my kitchen cabinet And all of them said "I think you should do it." All of them Much to my surprise including Oprah I really thought she was going to say "Nope I I I don't think you should do it." And she was like "Do it." She said "I really think you should do it because you've been talking about it and when it comes back and you're not on it you're going to be kicking yourself saying "I could have gone and I didn't and I don't want to have to hear about it for the next few years." And you know I think everybody in this group is a storyteller and explore and to be able to take this message and tell other people what it was like from our different perspectives I I think is very significant Do you have a message for the kids watching you you should always know that no dream is too big You know we have someone Aisha who was told when she was a kid your dreams are too big you need to dream smaller No no child should ever be told that And so I want people to know no dream no dream is too big And also LL CoolJ said this to me once dreams don't have deadlines Isn't that good That is real good Dreams don't have deadlines I've never forgotten that he said that I believe that as well What are you taking up with you Oh I have a bunch of stuff I have um Luca I wanted one of his favorite toys So I have a Sesame Street character called Tamir Tamir is this little black boy with great curly hair So Tamir gets to go to space I have a wooden cross that you can hold in your hands It it fits like in three prongs And a stranger came up to me at the airport She said "I always hear you talk about being a nervous flyer." and I
wanted you to have this And so if you're ever on a flight and you feel nervous take it out and hold it So I take whenever I'm flying I have this with me Also I just noticed what is this on your on your wrist So Jared who's one of our uh jib operators at CBS Morning his daughter Denise who's seven made this for me and she came into my makeup room and said "I made this for you." Someone else gave me astronaut era That's pretty great Uh Space Sister Amanda just gave me this I mean so I feel that I have I I feel I'm pretty well protected Absolutely I will say this as excited as I am I'll be very glad when we come back down I will be very very very glad about that Well clearly we heard Gail there and and prior to coming down here in Texas nervous and uh and excited at the same time But but one of the things I I liked about what I like about this is that she it just makes it real You know regardless of who you are this is a nerve-wracking experience And the fact that she's so authentic about it but also more so she is stepping so far out of her comfort zone I think that in its own right is extraordinarily inspirational I think most people would feel the way that Gail is feeling right about now You're about to launch into space You know one of the things that I find so refreshing is that you know back in the early days of human space flight you had the the you know the Mercury astronauts and they were all white male military test pilots and they all had to have the right stuff You could never talk about nerves or being nervous or your feelings or stuff like that That was the wrong stuff But now in 2025 it is the right stuff to be like Gail King and talk about those uh concerns and fears and excitement that you have before launching into space like that And that really shows you just how much the human spaceflight experience has changed over the last half century or so And that really is what today is all about But I know there are some people watching this or who have heard about this who are thinking uh why should I care about people going into space you know um Katy Perry a famous pop star why should I care about that and the reason is it's missions like this that really begin the process of opening up space to everyone for all of humanity that's what today is about and I think we we have to it's not just about today today is very very important but I think also one of reasons uh that I love working at Blue Origin is we think in very long time scales right I honestly feel like I'm working at at the at a company that will be here in at least 100red years And that's how we think about space flight Oh my gosh look at those that cute little kid She is ready to go to space too I absolutely adore that But we need to be here precisely for kids like that You cannot I am a firm believer that you cannot be it if you can't see it And that's what this flight is for It's about inspiring um women Oh look at talk about inspire inspirational women Several uh female astronauts in that do we have there I see four or five at least four or five in counting Uh it's a it's a it's a tight group that's only going to get bigger of those fe you know female astronauts There we see uh Kelly Gerardi and scan Proctor I see uh LML Emily Kalandrelli Serisha Bandla I mean just an incredible an incredible group of women that have gone to space already and you know after today in just 15 minutes we are going to be adding six more to that group It's getting close Arian It is getting close So with every with that thank you again everybody for joining us for NS31 our 11th mission human spaceflight mission to space Here we are at T-minus 14 minutes and 30 seconds just to give you a little bit of a preview of what is to come At about T-minus 10 minutes we are going to uh have the go no-go poll We're going to throw it back to mission control audio And basically what that is is uh we go through each of the important subsystems and our flight director shout out to Michelle Christensen our flight director our first female flight director at Blue Origin she is going to lead that poll and we're going to go to each one of the groups and say "Are you ready to go for this flight Is your subsystem ready to go for this flight or not?" and he will go around the room and with the final go no go it will be game time here in West Texas for this launch Look at that Now this this child is a little younger than you were when your parents went to space A little bit older Oh excuse me A little older Yeah cuz I I was just 15 months old when my mom flew in space And you know I think about what it must have been like for for her to uh be a firsttime mom and training for her first space flight all in one year And she was a part of NASA's original first six women astronauts alongside Sally Ride Of course it took them those first six female NASA astronauts two and a half years for all of them to fly into space Now today Blue Origin is going to send 600 into space in a single day I mean that's that's pretty cool right there Incredible perspective Also that was your mom like just 6 months You were just 6 months old when she started training She was a she was assigned to her first space flight when she was 8 months pregnant with me Can you imagine I have a six-month-old I can barely fly down to West Texas from Seattle She gave birth to me on a Friday and was back in the astronaut office on Monday I I I don't recommend doing that as a as a mom of two myself You're a mom of two I I probably wouldn't do that but respect She did you know respect That's huge But she I I I I've asked her I'm like why did you do that You know and she said because I I felt I had to to prove something I felt that I had to um you know pave a trail for women to come And so as I'm sitting here today I'm thinking a lot about what she did the sacrifices she made to make what's happening today Again it's not normal Human space flight will never be normal or routine but this is the beginning of making this kind of travel We got four moms on board a grandmother um making these types of people going into space very routine Now talking uh talking a little bit about that getting back a little bit into the the flight profile and what they're going to feel uh as as part of this now routine flight Um so the six astronauts are currently in the uh in the capsule right now all strapped in ready to go Their audio is working We are waiting for the T-minus 10 here for the go pole At Tminus 0 you guys are going to all of us will hear the pop That's the ignition of the BE3 engine It holds down the rocket for about five six seven seconds Inside the capsule they'll start to feel see the glow of the of the flame and then they will lift off They will take off They will they are in a a somewhat reclined seat and they'll start to feel the G forces on their body And so kind of like sitting in a car that's accelerating It pushes you back against the seat That's the same here except they're going up They will accelerate to about they'll have uh 3 G's So here on Earth we're at one g when you accelerate to 3Gs So like if you're 100 pounds it feels like you're then 300 lb But Kristen in that it's crazy but rec in that reclined position it's dispersed across your body It's not as bad It kind of feels like like a weighted blanket and then it it's nice and cozy as it gets nice and dark But looks like a weighted blanket right about now But they're not Don't worry it's going to get nice and dark but there's no sleeping on this They are going to have the most incredible view out of those windows The capsule will separate from the booster That's when they're going to feel weightlessness They'll get the the about 4 minutes to unbuckle enjoy the weightlessness enjoy the insane views out of those windows They'll buckle back in come back through the atmosphere That's actually when they're going to have the peak G forces They peak at about 5 G's which you which is kind of counterintuitive You wouldn't think that you would feel the max G forces on the descent but that that's when you do But that's when you do And it's kind of like because you're coming back through the atmosphere right It's thin up there You come back through the atmosphere It's thick It's kind of like diving into a pool It kind of goes against you at 5gs but then it eases back up and we deploy the parachutes and they come floating down at about 10 to 15 mph for a nice soft landing here in the desert At the last second there's an air cushion that comes out Go booster there's going to go Ground go safety go Capcom go engineering go This is the flight director New Shepard is go for launch Booster commence terminal 2 local flight Yeah baby Go for launch My favorite words It's getting real T-minus 8 minutes and 51 seconds until the our 11th human space flight The first all female crew flight to space All six of our astronauts are loaded in the capsule waiting for just 8 minutes and 30 seconds to go here Now Kristen we just kind of walked through the the flight profile what it's going to feel like for our astronauts Ah we got Cararissa up on the tower to chat with more friends and family Carissa who do you got out there I I don't need to introduce the incredible woman I don't need to introduce the incredible woman next to me who is a ray of sunshine Oprah you are wearing yellow because Gail's call sign is is sunshine That's right and and and all of us the whole family is wearing yellow today And I I I I you know we've been friends it'll be 50 years next year We've been friends since we were 21 and 22 And I have never been more proud of my friend than today Never been more proud because this is bigger than just going to space I mean I I I think for her who anytime we're on a flight she's in anybody's lap if there's a slightest bit of turbulence has like real real anxiety flying And this is overcoming a a wall of fear a barrier It's uh I think it's going to be cathartic in so many ways for her She told us that she was surprised that you told her to do it Why did you want her to do this Because I think life is about continuing to grow into the best of yourself and the fullest expression of yourself And I think that this is one of the most fullest expressions you can possibly have And I know that I felt deeply that she would regret it And I didn't want to hear about it for the next 15 years I wish I had gone you know And I said there's only one time that all the women are going up for the first time You know there will be other trips but there's only one first time So to be a pioneer is great What was the last conversation you had with her I said um peace be still Hold the God's unchanging hand He's got your back That's it Oh my gosh I know that was we're counting down here We're getting excited for that go for launch moment How are you feeling as her best friend I feel so calm I don't think I've ever been more calm because I think it's all it's already done Once she said yes Once she committed to yes And Lord did we all hear "Should I do it Should I do it?" Since Thanksgiving we've been talking about it And so once she finally said yes I was like "Okay we're going It's it's a go." You know what I have loved is her vulnerability because she's the voice of a lot of us that would be afraid and she's okay to talk about being afraid Why has that been so important to show that part I think you know for every woman who's on this flight it's about fulfilling something within themselves For Gail it's about overcoming this great fear and also stepping into the moment of excitement And I think um you know it goes beyond this moment of just going up in space I think this will be an everlasting experience I was just thinking this morning you know Gail has been there for me for hundreds of events I can't even remember them you know but you will never forget this day None of us will ever forget this day Well thank you for being here for her for us I mean this is just it is it's a historic day and it's only fitting that you are here front and center as a ray of sunshine that you are Miss Oprah Thank you so much Thank you so much You're next You know I'll send it back to you Arian Thanks Cararissa Wow To see Oprah down here No Um I'm not besties with Oprah Not yet anyway But if Oprah told me to do anything I would do it I don't think Gail had a choice after Oprah said "Girl you got to do this." She had to do it Arian we are under tminus 5 minutes until these ladies hopefully launch into space And you know you were just talking about what these women are going to feel when they launch But let me tell y'all watching what we may hear because we have one of the most famous singers on the planet on board And there is a chance that we will get to hear the audio inside and hear what these soon to be astronauts are saying and possibly singing uh while they're weightless So I can't wait for that moment I'm also hoping she comes down to Earth and does like either a fireworks part two or ET part two I think that's going to be uh and I think but but let's stick on this point for one second Kristen I think one of the incredible parts about this crew is their ability to tell the story coming out of this in their own unique way The way Gail can go on TV and talk about it the may Amanda can go and and continue uh to advocate for women more broadly about it The way Katie can sing about it etc The way Kerianne can produce films about it That is what is so special about this crew in particular And that is what's so special about this new era space This is not NASA This is not governments It's not the US China or Russia This is the commercial era These are private companies And this is Blue Origin sending the first all female crew into space since 1963 And this is all going to happen so fast in just a few minutes About 10 or 11 minutes from launch to landing And don't worry guys I I did the math in case you're wondering Total duration of this mission is just about uh three Katy Perry firework songs So play that song three times That's how long this mission's going to be Fantastic Well so at T-minus 3 minutes to go until our 31st launch of New Shepard our 11th human space flight just to tell you what's coming up At T-minus 2 minutes we send the show over to the vehicle It goes into autonomous mode Command engine controller ready to start We have our team of course in mission control that have their eyes glued to the screen there There you go Mission control Quiet and and intense top sensation Katie Perry and journalist Gail King They'll be traveling at more than three times the speed of sound aboard Blue Origin's fully reusable New Shepard rocket Founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos Blue Origin is one of the major players in the growing commercial space tourism industry NBC News correspondent Priscilla Thompson is at the launch site in Van Horn Texas We also have Dr Emily Rice She's an associate professor of astrophysics at McCauley Honors College at the City University of New York Good morning to you both So glad to have you here for this exciting time And Priscilla let's start with you What is going on aboard that rocket right now Yeah lots of excitement happening here We heard them say everything is all a go just a few minutes ago And so right now you've got all six of those women inside the capsule preparing for that liftoff which is expected to come in just about 2 minutes at this point And what we know is going to happen is that the rocket will lift off about a little over a minute in That is going to be uh what's called max Q when the maximum pressure is on the rocket on the capsule and then that rocket is going to separate from the capsule The rocket is going to come back down to Earth about 2 and 1/2 minutes in And that capsule is going to continue to soar with those six women on board That's when they are going to cross that Carmen line and be uh reach that boundary of space They're going to see those sweeping views of Earth And they're also going to get to experience those four minutes of weightlessness Um and so all of that is about to take place in just a short while And then hopefully they will make their way back down onto the ground after that 11 minute ride of a lifetime Stephen 11 minutes seems so fast I know they will enjoy this though Professor Rice this is going to cross the boundary into space As Priscilla told us they're going to experience weightlessness What is that going to be like What will it actually experience be like inside that capsule I have no idea honestly Um hopefully it's a nice smooth ride Um it uh it's it's really freef fall I want to point out that this is even though this is you know we've been calling it space tourism like they are going up on a rocket and this weightlessness like they're just outside of how NASA defines the Earth's atmosphere but at the same time they're weightless because they will be in freef fall for those 3 to four minutes Um I hope they're not going to get sick I hope they're going to be kind of stable enough and smooth enough to enjoy it It's definitely going to be very exciting for them Yeah I guess it's hard to know unless you've actually done it All right let's listen in now as we approach launch 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Command and G start 2 1 ignition Liftoff New Shepard has cleared the tower Flight 6,000 ft Climbing Begin throttle down for Q limiting Engine response looks good Max Q maximum dynamic pressure Mach one vehicle is supersonic engine back up sonic we have passed through max Q maximum dynamic pressure that's when the vehicle the stresses between the atmosphere and speed are at the maximum so to punch through that is so important you see the BE3 engines is firing beautifully you see the the the stream of steam behind it Those ladies right now are having an incredible view on their way to space Passing through 80,000 ft 1,300 mph you're going to peak at about 2300 mph over Mach 3 three times the speed of sound Shortly coming up we'll have Mo main engine cutoff We will turn off the engine but the two craft the capsule and the booster will continue their ascent to space And there you the main engine is turned off We're now going to separate the capsule from the booster And at that point Kristen that's when all six astronauts are going to start to feel the weightlessness And shortly thereafter we're going to let them unbuckle And that right there is the most critical milestone of this whole ascent Oprah watching her best friend go to space 1 2 3 and the two crafts are separated Put it up there Put it up there 328,000 ft 100 kilometers Welcome to space ladies Or shall I say astronauts Oh the moon you guys I have to look at the moon What's going on right now Oh my god Oh my god Yeah So a lot of excitement right now You can hear some of that because the booster separated successfully from the capsule That's perhaps the most complicated part in all of this So that booster is now making its way back to the launch pad on the ground as that capsule continues to soar with those six women on board Um and so they are preparing to experience that weightlessness and all of those amazing moments that happen as they reach the Carmen line the boundary of space uh there before they make their way down And right now we're at 9:35 So they're just about halfway through uh this incredible journey Incredible about how fast that actually goes Um and Priscilla I know that Lauren Sanchez Jeff Bezos's fiance actually chose this crew It's so bizarre to think about that Gail King and Katy Perry are on board a spaceship going up to the edge of space right now We saw Oprah getting emotional about it just a few moments ago How do we do we know how Sanchez chose this crew to go with her One minute warning Yeah So a handpicked crew that didn't know uh very much of each other beforehand but Lauren Sanchez said uh that she it was Jeff Bezos and they were talking about explorers and the fact that we don't often think about women as explorers but that women are explorers And so Sanchez said that she wanted to pick uh five additional women beyond herself who were explorers And so she chose obviously pop icon Katy Perry journalist Gail King as you noted her best friend Oprah on the ground visibly emotional crying tears as that capsule separated and they were officially on their way uh into space Um but there's also a producer Kerianne Flynn and two scientists Aisha Bo and Amanda Wyn Both of them are going to be taking science exper experiments up with them So trying to do uh some research on uh this flight And I should note that Amanda Win now that she is in space has become the first Vietnamese woman ever to be in space So a historic day here indeed Stephen incredible history to witness Dr Rice let's bring you in here What are your thoughts as you see this the history we're making 61 years since the last uh all female mission that we talked about That was just one woman Now we've got six Yeah From one to six This is super super exciting That first one back in 1963 was Valentina Terishova the the second person in space the first uh woman in space She was in orbit so she went higher than this She stayed in longer than this She was in orbit for nearly three days Um and then she parachuted out of her capsule as well That's one of the reasons that she was uh chosen to be an astronaut um is because of her skydiving experience So this you know maybe a little bit less training for these six uh new women astronauts but this is still very exciting Priscilla we we can see a different shot of the capsule now Or is this is not the capsule What are we looking at here Yes So that is the booster that's separated from the capsule So that is successfully coming down It should be hitting the ground any second here And so that means that we're about 7 and 12 minutes into this That's around the time when uh this booster was supposed to make its uh landing And so that's what we're seeing on the ground here We just heard a big boom as that uh fire came out from underneath that But um and meanwhile you have those six ladies still in the capsule still in space right now likely having all of those experiences of the weightlessness hopefully beginning to see um Earth And you see all of that dust that's coming up Um what's really interesting here is that they don't land in water So even when the capsule comes back down it's going to land on Earth And so we're going to see that dust sort of that dust up again But these are all good signs of a successful mission so far It appears live pictures of that happening as you speak Priscilla Incredible to see that booster come back down for that landing after separating from the capsule all in just such a short amount of time And you mentioned the capsule is still up there with uh the six women on board Do we know have they made their descent yet So I think we may be a little bit ahead of the stream but we do see a parachute in the sky here which means that it is coming down Three parachutes on there So the capsule is making its way down Uh so far it's looking like a very successful mission And of course there it is I think we've got it there Um and so it's going to land in the dust similar to we saw with that booster And then we expect to see these six ladies emerge um often a very emotional moment given the journey that they have just uh experienced and they've gone through a lot of training to get here Well two days of training to get here I should say Uh learning how to get in and out of their seat belts and be able to experience the weightlessness and all the things that they needed to be able to do up there And you hear the cheers as their f uh friends and family are watching uh this capsule descend slowly It should be on the ground any minute now And of course just awaiting those uh incredible images to come of them getting out and uh and being back on Earth after quite a journey just a couple days of training But as we were hearing Oprah say that it was a long decision in the making for Gail King in particular Dr Rice I'm curious as a woman in the STEM field in astrophysics seeing this happen What impact do you think this could have on young people watching this history unfold I think this is going to have a huge impact just that this mission with six different women on board bringing uh you know six different backgrounds six different areas of expertise and even more than that between the six of them Um and then like Priscilla said six different ways to tell their stories when they come back This is it's an experience that will last a lifetime for these women and will have huge ripple effects for their children for their grandchildren and my daughter's outside watching me do this interview Um it's just it's just phenomenal You can feel the the world watching this happen this history in the making Dr Rice being a woman in STEM yourself and watching this unfold this history uh before us I'm curious what does this mean to you personally This is just amazing Honestly I'm an um a nervous flyer like Gail King is And so hearing her say that you know and hearing Opa describe that I'm like "Okay may maybe if I got the chance maybe I would say yes." I would never before I
would I hadn't said that I've told my students very often like "Nope I'll watch it I'll explain it I'll I'll help you learn about it." There they are touching down It's just amazing But as more and more people go up it's like why not If I had the chance maybe I would say yes now right That is incredible Um Priscilla bringing you back in here now What happens now We saw that it looks like a safe successful touchdown What's going to happen next Yeah a safe successful touchdown You saw all of that dust sort of float up as it officially hit the ground So we should be seeing uh these women getting out of the capsule I don't know if we're going to get that live or not but obviously a very emotional moment for them after what they have just uh experienced It's just a historic mission in itself being this uh all female crew the likes of which we have not seen since the first woman went up in space in the 60s and now here they are They have done it They have come back down Um and as noted just like six different stories here And I really think about Amanda Wyn as the first Vietnamese astronaut or a Vietnamese person in space And she talked about when her family came over from Vietnam on boats and that they were looking up in the sky in Vietnam and seeing bombs going off and that today people would be able to look up in the sky and see the first Vietnamese woman in space And so just a really big moment for so for all of them on board um and really excited to see cannot wait to see those images and moments when they get off You know we often see folks crying and just very emotional and talking about how much bigger just the the planet and the world and and the way in which we occupy it feels after you have this experience of going up to space And so I'm sure we're going to hear a lot from them and they're going to be holding a press conference uh a little while after they get off but uh it looks like we we might be able to get those images of them getting out um and all of the emotion that will come with that Yeah it seems like on the right side we may be seeing images of a dash cam maybe heading to that capsule right now We're trying to look inside the windows to see what we can make out Not exactly clear right now but hopefully they will emerge soon I just got goosebumps when your description of Amanda Wyn's um description of her journey and really reiterating these six different stories that we're going to be able to hear We've heard so many people who talk about after they have an experience in space seeing the world from above the the sense of unity they have sort of a an out-of- body experience And we'll certainly be able to hear from an artist like Katie Perry put that into words as well as Gail King a journalist to to put that into words what that experience actually is like Um you mentioned the people watching season Oh go ahead I'm sorry I was just going to say Katy Perry also mentioned that she might be releasing like a set list for her next concert or possibly singing a song up there So it's going to be really interesting to see the footage once they release it of what actually happened when they went into space and during those four minutes where they were uh floating because it it could be some pretty interesting uh some pretty interesting clips coming out of that as well It sounds like the beginning of a joke honestly Katy Perry Gail King hopping on a spaceship and she's singing up there It sounds hard to wrap your mind around So definitely going to keep our eye out for that one Uh we also see on the right side of our screen off and on we're seeing um this from their mission control uh changing these video feeds Uh people are there clearly watching Are they far back away from the capsule right now It's hard to get a scope of the the distance Yeah So I will say we're quite far away from the capsule So I don't necessarily have a great sense of that but I know that as uh these women were sort of leaving the facility where they were staying and traveling over to um the launch site there were the road was lined with people who were cheering them on waving at them giving them high fives And so I imagine they have them somewhere um housed just a little closer than where we are but perhaps not not so close But you know we'll see once they get out if their family and friends that are able to run up them up to them will have a sense of how close they are Um but you mentioned kind of like the cast of characters that is on uh this journey all of these very accomplished women And you know May Jimson the first black woman to go to space was talking about this earlier and why this uh historic mission matters and all of these women goes up uh going up matters and she said that it matters because of regardless who they are it's expanding the idea of who gets to go to space and who can go to space Um and I think that's just a really big thing also to highlight here as we talk about the history that's being made today Dr Rice I asked you earlier what they were going to be experiencing and you said you haven't been to space so you don't know What would you ask them once they emerge if you could ask them some questions I would ask them how they're feeling now Um one of the things that I love about these Blue Origin missions is um the different types of people that get to go into space and experience space because of this This is fun um uh people like William Shatner people like Wally Lamb who was one of the original Mercury 13 women who trained as astronauts but never did get to go into space And so I would like to like how does how does the cosmic overview effect the cosmic perspective change the way that you've experienced the world now And I think that's going to be a big thing for all six of these women Um William Shatner I had one of the most um different reactions I think he experienced grief and sadness he said when he saw the earth from space and how fragile it is and how fragile that onion skin of our atmosphere is Um so I'd be really excited to see how these six women are going to uh have changed after this flight That is an excellent point Everyone's experience is different We see now the ground crew has made their way to the capsule hopefully opening that door any second now and we'll be able to see the crew of six all six women on board this history making space flight We'll keeping our eye on those cameras as they I'm sure have to unbolt and open those doors Uh Dr Rice I wanted to ask you people have criticized these types of space tourism flights uh saying that they sort of detract from exploration It's just for people with a lot of money to be able to go to space Um is there room in this for exploration for scientific discovery I think that's absolutely true that there is room for scientific discovery even in these short flights Um in particular for this one Aisha Bo is a former NASA rocket scientist and she has facilitated some scientific experiments on this flight Um one of them that I'm really excited about is from Winston Salem State University So a student-led project on astrobatony So they took some plants into microgravity into the weightlessness from what I can tell and they're going to study u molecular changes in the plants back in the laboratory And so this is the type of thing you know NASA um uh has a lot of funding for scientific research as well as for human space exploration A lot of that goes to students and to kind of basic research and the but when there's private partnerships like this we can expand the offerings and the availability and the opportunities especially for students which is wonderful Uh we're watching a replay of what happened moments ago whenever this all began A very quick trip So many people that we I've talked to who have been uh work who work for NASA or who want to work for NASA there's some moment that sparked that curiosity for them Be that science fiction or watching actual shuttle missions take place And no doubt there are young people across the United States and the world watching this right now who may be getting an idea that maybe this is something they would like to one day do And that is also thrilling to think about Continuing our live look now the left side of our screen the capsule holding those six women Now this was the right side of the screen This is the ground crew that is approaching that capsule that will hopefully soon open that hatch and we will see the six women emerge Um Priscilla do you have an idea of what's going on right now The process will be for opening that up and what happens next systems on the capsule Yeah So I it looks like they're just kind of getting all the crews in place and they should be opening it up soon and getting them all unbuckled and out I know that they do have contact with like mission control So someone is talking to them as they're inside that capsule capsule working their way through um the next couple of steps Um and of course they train for this Granted it was only about 14 hours of training so I think over the course of two days but they spent a lot of time getting in and out of this capsule learning how to strap in and strap um and get out of these harnesses and rehearsing the mission and also emergency procedures in case those were needed So it should be a pretty smooth process Um but to pick up on a point that you made I think all of these women have talked about how this mission is so much bigger than them that it is about the future generations and the young women who are watching Katy Perry even got emotional as she was talking about her four-year-old daughter and talking to her about how she was going to be going to space and just what this moment means for so many people at home uh who are watching all of this Amanda Win also you know she is a survivor of sexual assault and she said that she hopes when other survivors see her up there they know that there is healing in this journey um and that they'll make it through And so a lot of this is just so much bigger than just going to space for so many of these women but it's science It's representation I mean it's also just giving people hope and and belief And so um really really excited to see them get out of this capsule Lots of anticipation uh for that moment and just to hear what they're going to say about their experience and what they're going to say about what it means in the larger uh context of just where we are with uh the space race and with them being able to represent for women uh represent for women from all of these different diverse backgrounds Um and so it will be a very very exciting moment And it looks like there are some folks really close to the capsule So I possibly a photographer there So maybe that means that they are getting ready to make that exit any moment now Yeah we our eyes are trained on that I know just like yours are Priscilla Trying to see exactly what is happening as that door hopefully will open up any second Keeping our eye on it my uh and my producer was actually just telling me that when they do open um the capsule they will be greeted by family and friends that each of them has chosen to join uh them at the entry site So that is likely uh what we'll see So I think some of those folks were probably being transported over there so that they could be there for that uh that moment and to just comfort and hug and love on them as they get out of that uh capsule and experience the whole array of emotions being back on Earth Yes And you mentioned friends and family We see Jeff Bezos there at uh the door of the capsule there to greet his fiance Lauren Sanchez No doubt I'm really hoping to see Oprah run up and hug Gail King because that's uh incredible More history You and me both Stephen Um so our eyes trained on that door Looks like they have some steps outside of the door as well It looks like they're talking to the people inside We see the camera crews getting in place You mentioned uh the photographer of course wanting to capture this historic moment of their safe touchdown back on Earth from this Blue Origin mission And so as you mentioned the anticipation builds We want to first see them and then hear what they have to say Priscilla the more you say about Amanda Win the more I want to hear from her Just an incredible uh perspective a survivor and uh just an incredibly inspirational person uh the first Vietnamese woman to go to space Just a long list of achievements So can't wait to hear from her as well Yeah very excited to hear from her And we are obviously seeing some movement in there So it seems like they may be out of the belt So uh hopefully just lining up so that they could uh each have their moment to come out and get all of those hugs and things from family Looks like they're adjusting those steps because as you said there are uh steps there They actually had a replica capsule set up for us So we were able to see there are steps that you climb up to get in and then the six seats that are around um the that border uh the exterior of the capsule So I think once they have that all set up but you see Jeff Bezos giving the wave there So uh I think they're up and probably excited to come out as well and share their journey To be a fly on the wall in there and hear what they are all saying to each other that would be incredible Maybe Katy Perry's in there singing We we don't quite know I'm sure we will hear about that if that's the case Um yes See yeah I do still see movement inside I'm not sure from your vantage point if you're able to see Are there more people approaching that capsule Not from the vantage point we can see I mean it looked to me like they had kind of cleared out the space like they were ready to bring them out and let them have their moment with family So I'm not sure what they are um waiting on And I've been watching their Twitter eagerly eagerly They just tweeted out some stats about um about what happened but uh All right Is it happening All right We're watching Looks like I think it is Bezos is approaching the door Opening it up Cheers There it is The door is open Let's see who's emerging first There's Lauren Sanchez Woo Woo Woo Lauren Sanchez hugging her fianceé Jeff Bezos there after this successful space flight Where are my babies They're over here Go see them Oh we have to go there Okay Katy Perry There's Katy Perry Yes Oh kiss the ground Katy Perry did happy to be back on Earth Thank you Thank you believe that's Amanda Win who you were telling us about Priscilla clearly emotional from that historic space flight Oh my gosh Aisha B and got two more I just want to have a moment on the ground And Gail happy to be back on the ground Very happy That's our second kiss of the ground if you were counting at home Oh my god that was amazing And last but not least Carrie and Flynn Amazing I'm so proud of you And they have all made it out safely Incredible to see those endorphins if you'll forgive me for the pun must be out of this world Dr Rice what are your thoughts as we uh watch these uh women back on Earth This is just amazing Six new female astronauts to add to the list I think we're getting up to about 108 I think female astronauts Um and two more black women astronauts which is also wonderful I believe they are number seven and number eight of uh black women who have gone to space Um I think what Katy Perry might have been holding there if you saw when she lifted up her hand when she came out of the capsule I'm going to guess that it was a daisy for her daughter So that I'm not sure that that was part of the um Astrobotney experiment but she might have taken a daisy to space for her daughter And I'm here in tears honestly Wow Uh sentimentality that would actually be uh it's an experiment all its own to have something not maybe not scientific but certainly uh for that family bond Priscilla watching this you you entered the the mockup of the capsule seeing this all unfold I'm sure you've read into each of these women's stories as they make it back here on Earth You mentioned Katy Perry thinking about her own child during all of this What are your thoughts as we watch the end of this space flight Yeah I mean I think just such a a moment a moment for these women who are mothers and grandmothers and also just like uh you know successful women in in their own right And the idea that this wouldn't have been possible uh so many years ago but now you have this boom in space flight and space tourism as we call it that is allowing for these things uh to happen And to think about in 1963 the last time when that first woman went up into space solo And here today you have six women who have successfully gone up including the first Vietnamese woman as we've been talking about So just certainly a historic day and a moving a moving day here for so many people Absolutely is It's hard not to get emotional watching this this whole event The space flight taking just 11 minutes It felt like it take took longer for that door the hatch to actually open and for them to emerge But I cannot wait to hear all of their stories Thank you both Priscilla Dr Rice for helping us as we understand what is going on and in the moment We appreciate your expertise on this and thank you all for watching behind it all Every single time I make one of these videos I lead with my heart Truly anything can happen And now Blake's on a mission to inspire the next generation I want to help kids with that you know to know their worth Help them turn down the volume of all those negative thoughts and turn up the positive ones Encouraging millions to follow their heart and dance like everyone's watching When we get into just our heart we're all little kids you know and we just want to have fun Turn on the music and dance you know It's fun and it can inspire the world And Blake says he's still seeing a ton of those videos online even now Back to you Very cool Love that Hi Jackson Thanks so much And Selene Deion gets the props for that as well Would not have been the same without her That's going to do it for this hour of Morning News Now but your news continues right now Good Monday morning I'm Steven Romo in for Joe and Savannah today and right now on Morning News now tech support more what what we didn't get to hear it was a feeling of joy and like um and com camaraderie it was a feeling of gratefulness it was a feeling that we're doing this and you know you know Alan Shepard I told you about this did the same exact flight and he became the first American in space and six women just did the same flight that yeah keep doing this I just want to keep hugging you It's really cool And um and I hope I hope that more people get to see this because I I feel I don't even know how much it's going to change me And I want to thank the blue team I mean look at them I mean they work so hard to make sure this vehicle gets up and safe And I I'm I'm so proud of you I'm so proud of you It's one thing to say you're going to do it It's another thing to actually do it And I know there's a phrase in your family that life takes off on the other side of fear And here you are just having landed back on Earth and now you are officially Lauren Sanchez already adding to your extensive resume You are an astronaut Congratulations Thank you I'm very excited I'm excited to share it with the world and I'm so grateful to everyone here I love you Go be with your family But to process and download what just happened to me Well get on in here Amanda someone that can now articulate uh exactly how Lauren is feeling Uh Lauren being so candid about overcome with emotion How are you feeling I know Amanda this has been a dream of yours a long- aaited dream and now it is finally official You are an astronaut Congratulations Thank you so much Um you know I uh I usually have nice words to say but in this moment I just want all survivors to know that you can heal no dream is too wild Um and that if it's so wild out there like going to space you can absolutely make it through and it can absolutely be possible You mentioned to us prior to to going up you said that you needed to go to space to heal I know you're only a few minutes removed from this incredible experience Do you feel healed Um you know I had a zero G indicator that I didn't know if I would bring Um and I ended up I ended up bringing it Um can explain for the folks at home that don't know what that means what what it is that you're holding Yes The zerog indicator is something all astronauts have that uh floats once you h
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