Jeff Bezos launches into space in landmark flight for his space tourism company, Blue Origin
everybody who's been to space says it changes them in some way and i'm just really excited to figure out how it's going to change me four astronauts launching to the edge of space with unmatched views of the earth feels below to be in the flight suit oliver welcome welcome you're my fellow traveler i'm excited i'm excited we're going to do this journey together [Applause] i'm going to be in that window [Applause] [Music] blue origin civilians in space live from launch site one in west texas and times square in new york city robin roberts george stephanopoulos and michael strahan good morning and thank you for joining us on this tuesday morning big chapter in space history about to open up in just a few minutes you see the countdown clock that's the new shepard blue origin spacecraft it's on the launch pad right now supposed to go off in about 20 minutes the countdown clock says 23.34 we know it's going to be around that time 9 a.m top of the hour that's right george and that's going to happen in just a little bit but oh my gosh when you think about it the billionaire amazon owner and founder jeff bezos along with three other civilians basil's younger brother mark 82 year old wally funk 18 year old oliver damon all will launch into orbit on a journey to the edge of space you see them there getting ready groundbreaking all this 11 minutes it's an 11 minute expedition that's how long it will last for the moment the rocket called new shepherd named for the first american in space alan shepard takes off until the capsule lands back here on earth that's right 11 minutes are going to go up they're going to float for a couple of minutes then float back down to earth with the parachutes today's date chosen for a very special reason anniversary the first apollo moon landing more than 50 years ago july 20th 1969 that mission began jeff bezos's lifelong love of space yeah he said it at the age of five and even talked about it at his high school graduation about space michael is smack dab right there on the in the middle of it all a secluded desert near van horn a small town in west texas about 120 miles from el paso he'll speak with jeff bezos right after he lands michael let us know what's the atmosphere like out there hey robin i think this town the population has doubled with everybody that came out to see the launch that's how small this town is but there is so much excitement out here this morning history is about to be made in just a few moments and one of the biggest highlights for these civilians turned astronauts for three of those minutes that they're up there they will experience total weightlessness where they can unbuckle float around the cabin there are windows everywhere and on one side you'll see a stunning view of earth and on the other the total blackness of space but they all get a window feed george yeah what a change that is for robin remember when we used to watch those spacecraft go up there were tiny windows when we were growing up this on this aircraft 60 percent of the capsule exterior is windows blue origin has tested this mission 15 times before today's launch the last time they did it with a mannequin named skywalker skywalker all right you'll probably remember it was just nine days ago that billionaire richard branson and five other people took a small rocket plane operated by virgin galactic to the edge of space and back beating bezos in their long-standing rivalry in the race to space terrorism but this this mission is different meso and his crews and his crew are actually though they'll be crossing the carmen line that's 62 miles up from ground level it is considered by nasa to be the true edge of space going farther than branson and in a traditional rocket with no pilots no pilots george it's all automated all automated rocket was rolled out to the launch pad the launch site just after midnight you see it right there and the crew of four you saw them go into the range rover to be driven over to the site uh that was all earlier today and now we're just about less than 20 minutes away from the launch that's great at the top of the hour the trip will take a total of 11 minutes as we said and here is what you and they can expect to see we're getting all kinds of at liftoff the new shepard rocket ignites speeding the passengers towards space producing 110 000 pounds of thrust propelling all on board through earth's atmosphere two minutes after launch the new shepard reaches mach 3 speed astronauts on board will feel a pressure three times the force of earth's gravity a minute later the main engine of new shepard cuts off also known as miko or main engine cutoff and the capsule carrying the passengers separates from the rocket it is at this moment that the astronauts can unbuckle and experience weightlessness four minutes into the mission the crew capsule reaches apogee the highest point in the flight as the capsule speed slows to zero miles per hour now both the capsule and the new shepard rocket separately make their controlled descent back to earth new shepard is more aerodynamic and will reach the earth before the capsule six minutes in and the astronauts buckle back in in preparation for the capsule to re-enter earth's atmosphere moments before the new shepherd rocket lands the engine reignites the rocket makes a pinpoint vertical touchdown so it can be reused for future flights nine minutes after launch the parachutes deploy from the capsule they will bring the speed of the capsule down to 16 miles per hour as it drifts back to earth to slow the capsule's impact further seconds before landing the retro thrust system kicks on releasing an air cushion resulting in a dust cloud once on the ground the astronauts wait as recovery teams speed to meet them so let's meet the blue origin team four brave civilians soon to be astronauts first up jeff bezos the 57 year old founder of amazon and blue origin and owner of the washington post alongside him his brother and best friend 50 year old mark bathos a financier who's also been a volunteer firefighter since 2005. also on board wally funk the longtime astronaut who actually trained to go to space 60 years ago in a women's program that was later cancelled she never actually flew to space and now at 82 she is poised to be the oldest person to do so and all last but not least 18 year old oliver damon from the netherlands who just graduated from high school and he is now set to become the youngest person ever to visit space i had the chance to sit down and talk to all four of them and i began by asking jeff bezos what it's like to be hours away from making his childhood dream of going to space a reality it's so exciting you know this crew is going to go to space and i have just been dreaming about this really my whole life but i i don't know what it's going to mean for me everybody who's been to space says it changes them in some way and i'm just really excited to figure out how it's going to change me people say they see the thin limb of the earth's atmosphere it teaches them how fragile and precious the planet is how they're no boundaries i don't know what it's going to do but i'm excited to find out can you put in the context for us what what this signals for the future of space exploration and travel what we're hoping to do is to build the road to space so that future generations will be able to do amazing things in space if we have practice and get good at reusable vehicles so the big thing that blue origin is doing is making these vehicles reusable and in an operable way so they can be found over and over and over more like commercial airliners if we can get to that stage then the things that the next generations will figure out how to what to do in space how to benefit earth with all those things they can do in space that'll be amazing to see so that's the real goal well they train for 14 hours for the fully automated flight and part of the requirements for that they'd be able to climb seven flights of stairs in 90 seconds wally says she outdid the men 60 years ago and according to jeff bezos she also outdid this group as well and now i am joined by a man who always out does me geo benitez who is our abc transportation correspondent and geo you had you were actually at the branson launch last week you've been here for the past few days and you got a chance to sit in that training module yeah so how was that i mean it was just incredible michael because this is the training module that they've been using all weekend long to train for those to train for this moment because what blue origin says they don't want is that they don't want the experience that first moment to feel those feelings and hear the sounds to be up in the air they want you to be able to relax and so what they do is they put you through the simulator you hear these sounds you feel that vibration it's something we're going to feel here on the ground we're going to feel a little bit of that but certainly not what's happening inside that capsule so you're really going to feel it i think real time it's really going to be hard for them to relax regardless of going through the simulator or not but a lot of people may say this is just a billionaire's race to space but it's a lot more than that look i mean this is obviously right now you have to be very very rich to afford a seat on this flight to a sport a seat on virgin galactic you have to be rich but what they argue is that you have to start somewhere and that's how you're going to start you're going to have to start with these very expensive seats in the same way that sort of air travel began in this country with something that was very expensive but what people don't realize is the research that is happening blue origin has already been sending research payloads up there to microgravity and and that's important because you have universities that need to conduct research and different pharmaceutical companies and they didn't have access to three minutes in weightlessness like they do now it is very important to do that they would have otherwise had to send it all the way to the international space station which is obviously very expensive for universities so that has been happening already here with blue origin and i got to say down here on earth has done a lot for this community here in van horn because it has created a lot of jobs here you guys so george i'm gonna throw it back to you okay we're joined now by tj tj is here in the audi in the studio with us as well and and robin i remember when we were growing up everything stopped when these rockets first went into space the moon landing 50 years ago tj you weren't even born i was but i was i was the the shuttle kid right we our era was the shuttles and i always remember but atlantis discover yes challenger all those i can still to this day remember the teachers wheeling that television into the library on that cart and gathered us all around to watch them no matter who you are i've been getting messages from people talking about how much energy and alive we've seen this morning working because it just gets you excited it just no matter what it taps into this childlike sense of wonder hope and exploration when you're talking about space travel it's just exciting yeah another barrier is being broken today we have a lot of experts to help break it down let's bring them in right now former astronaut abc news contributor katie coleman astrophysicist dr akimo luche and anushay ansari another woman who's traveled to space as a civilian and so let's begin with you katie thank you all first of all for being i can only imagine we're excited i can only imagine how you three must be feeling right now and katie you've been on two space shuttle missions spent six months on the international space station what is going through the minds of those four right now who are getting ready to launch into space i think right now they're actually focused on reviewing what they need to do you know what's first what time this what's the thing they had trouble with in training that they have to make sure that they do right and at the same time you know even just walking up those stairs to the launch pad i mean there was only just a few people on that launch pad and just being one of several you know i mean just not very many people and you look around you see the whole landscape but it's just you and your rocket i think they got to really feel a little bit of the the grandness of the day then but right now i think they might be focused on just making sure they're all set there does seem to be a little bit of a delay right now you see the the countdown clock appears to be holding there at 15 minutes even though the time is still coming down i know and they keep saying it's on time and we'll keep an eye on that um but because they are staying it should still be going off at the top of the hour but that's that's nothing unusual that is like most missions that we've had you see delays like that but katie what do you wally wally funk you talk about her we have been talking about her her chance to make history after training to be an astrid so many decades never getting the chance to fly until now what do you think is going through her mind i think she realizes how many people that she brings with her when she and the other 12 women that are referred to as the mercury 13 they they passed the test that all the mercury 7 astronauts had passed and either doing as well or better and were scheduled for further testing and and back then people almost didn't believe that women could actually do these things and so you realize that when you do well you're doing well for so many others and they were so hopeful to be able to join the women in space program as was you know spoken about to them so now to get to go and do those things it's everything for wally but it's it's really so much for all of us and all of us who have dreams who persist let's bring in sorry on it you became the first woman to pay to travel to space back in 2006 aboard a russian soyuz spacecraft spent 11 days on the space station tell us what the training was like and what the experience was like training that what you need to do first off a lot of typical mental trainings and mostly just preparing yourself the experience getting familiar with the systems and emergency training trying to make sure that if something goes wrong you know how to react and make sure that they can return safely hakeem ole shea is also joining us this morning professor george mason university author of a quantum life my unlikely journey from the street to the stars this this launch today is a bit riskier than the virgin galactic launch just a couple of weeks ago well it may be in some ways because a part of the risk depends on how powerful your rocket is and how long it burns for but they have so many different safety redundancies built in and one of the most important is that they have an emergency um abort system that separates the capsule from the rocket booster and also the capsule is far away from the rocket booster so if even something goes wrong with the rocket booster they have time so if you look at the actual engineering risk assessments for something going wrong with the with the with the rocket booster it's about a one out of 100 or so um probability but the threat to the crew is much lower because of all the safety redundancies that they have in it's ten times lower it's like one in a thousand which is standard for rockets like this okay let's go to geo where did you get any insight into what is actually happening there on the ground right now we see one clock moving one clock stopped yeah george so we're trying to figure out exactly why there is this hold we're seeing this hold now for about six minutes at 15 minutes here uh but you know what one of the things that's happening here is that we don't necessarily have to lift off at an exact time in the way that for example a spacex launch has to hit an exact time at the second to reach the international space station at that exact moment in this case they can sort of delay it a little bit for whatever reason i'm looking out at the sky right now and it's a very clear day here so we don't think that it's the weather we don't feel any wind so we're going to wait to find out exactly why we know it's now not going to happen any earlier than 904 a.m it may be pushed back a few more minutes but we're going to be watching this right here you you were on the scene of the virgin galactic a couple weeks back there was a much longer delay tell walk us through what was happening there yeah so with virgin galactic basically what was happening is they had some overnight storms that were moving in and the winds were very very intense there in new mexico and they had to roll out uh the the spaceship over to the launch pad but it took a long time to do that because they had to wait for those winds to calm down they had to wait for those storms to calm down so it wasn't necessarily a morning delay it was what was happening overnight that they sort of had to push everything back because of that roll out that was delayed in this case we don't have that delay so we are trying to figure out why we are still at t minus 15 minutes here has has the basis team told you anything at all no they are they actually told us george that they don't know why and they're trying to go back and speak with mission control to find out exactly why but we have our producer genus and sarri also reaching out to the folks there to try to found out find out but oh there we go right now george it looks like we are now at t minus 14 44. so the clock is ticking once
again yeah the clock is ticking again let's bring in katie coleman again of course you're a veteran of these missions uh not all that unexpected to have a bit of a delay it's definitely not and basically you go when the when the time is right i think it's harder on almost everyone else than it is on the crew because they know that you know even if it's not today for some reason they will be going when when everything is set and right and uh and i like a lot of the way that i hear the blue origin team talk about you know making sure that they don't have to go fever how different is it for this blue origin team uh how different is it for them that they're really just passengers all of you when you've gone up on different missions you had a job to do and while our astronauts and our teams are going to well they've got i mean i think they have a job to do too and actually this word tourism always kind of bothers me a little bit because it implies that you're just going to going to see something from a distance when actually when you're up there and you become weightless and you see that view out the window it's a visceral thing it's something that you really feel inside you and everyone's going to feel it differently they're going to see it differently and that's really the whole point is bringing lots of different viewpoints up to space but it's definitely not something that you just kind of like look at and feel separate from and doctor we'll say let me ask you this uh dr hakeem olsen because we have been talking about a lot about the billionaires we had richard branson and now we have jeff bezos um can you help people understand the importance why why why should the average person be excited about today that's a that's a very good question because it does look like it's very far from accessible to the average person today but if you think about the type of trips that were being taken by so-called space tourists from 1998 up up into the 2000s they were paying something like 20 million dollars a ticket and now for these missions it's come down by about a factor of 10 and so what's happening here is that this development that's being done by these three companies right we have to include the orbital company too spacex is they've brought down the price by creating reusable vehicles and the other thing is they're making it more accessible not necessarily today but for the future they're building an infrastructure and the more that infrastructure is used then the more it can be taken advantage of kind of like the internet right you create a new economy so what is that new economy one of the most promising is the mining of materials from say the moon or from asteroids and there is one asteroid out there that's um valued at not trillions of dollars but quadrillions to quintillions of dollars if we can actually mine it um so what we're looking at is being done by billionaires but if you look at the beginning of automobiles if you look at the beginning of aircraft then quite often you see this kind of activity in the very beginning just because they are the ones who have access but eventually now we come to a point where everyone for the most part can take an airline flight so perhaps in the future and we're talking perhaps decades or not everyone could take a space flight let's talk about the immediate future dr ansari talk tell us a little bit about what you expect in the immediate aftermath of this of this flight well assuming everything goes right then we've entered into a new era right and we now have a space race between two sub-orbital corporations that are doing things differently from each other so that means that things are going to shake out we're going to learn a lot about the various technologies but you know the thing that to me as an astrophysicist and as a nerd the idea of just going into space as you don't have to be a astronaut and go through the astronaut program and getting that view of the dark black sky space what the universe really is that is just mind-blowing to me and then to look down on earth personally i've been to 40 countries uh at this point in my life and i didn't really get a perspective on america until i left america and then i had perspective so imagine a perspective one gains when they leave the earth and [Music] and we apologize we have some trouble with your sound but we do want to go back to gio benitez there at the launch site we are closing in we are closing in george and they just finished the go pull this is the pull that they take inside mission control where they basically have everybody say go or no go and we are a go for launch that is very critical at t minus 10 minutes we're now looking at t minus nine minutes but a reminder when you're talking about a launch everything is taken to account in every single second so they can decide a second before this launch to scrap it and so this is something we're going to be watching but it is a very good sign right now that that go pull right now is a go for launch so so what are jeff bezos and his fellow crew members doing right now as best you can tell you know when i talk to astronauts about this nasa astronauts they always say that in this moment this is what they've been training for and they're just sort of relaxed and waiting for it to happen they believe they always tell me and i find this very shocking but they always say that it is a very calm relaxed moment i'm not sure i would be as relaxed but certainly these nasa astronauts are he has been training now for a while he has been working on this for 21 years george this is a company he founded in 2000 and he started it with this vision of human space flight and now he is making that dream come true so i'm imagining that a lot like those nasa astronauts preparing all that time for this he's probably feeling a lot like that all right geo thank you well let's talk to a former astronaut we have one katie coleman so can you give us a sense this close to life what is going on i think it's it you look at the you look at the clock you've got a clock in front of you and you realize that hopefully nothing's going to stop that clock and at the same time it's moving a little bit too fast because you're just not quite ready even though you feel like you've been ready all your life and waiting for those engines to light in this case the engine to light it is the most unbelievable feeling when that happens and it becomes clear in this way that it is just so hard to get people off this planet it takes immense force and complicated engineering and when it really happens it in your part of it it's it's something to be inside that rocket and at the same time it's i think it's harder to watch than it is to be inside the rocket and tell us what's going to be what's the difference between what people saw with richard branson not too long ago his flight into space and what we're going to see today the difference between the two flights but each one of those people has contributed well there i mean there's the vehicle themselves i mean there's is is an airplane a mother ship that is then going to drop a spaceship that's got a rocket motor on it after it drops the rocket motor lights and that's when they begin their climb to space and one of the differences is that they actually have to climb up you know in the mothership and it's about a 40-minute flight before they get dropped and they start their launch whereas it's much quicker here and i think that all of these seconds of laying on your back on the pad getting to be settled mentally in your seat are actually really valuable to them i think the virgin galactic folks have a little while to think about it without people around them they're just strapped in their seats on their way about 40 minutes before that plane drops and the the rocket motor lights and they're a rocket going to space you talk you talk about getting settled mentally were you afraid at all you make up your mind about wanting to be on the top of that launch pad long before you're ever sitting there and it's something that you do with your your family and and you really you trust the people i trust the people and i'm sure that they do too people can you trust people to have done their best and there's also this uh spirit of exploration that makes it all worthwhile and katie as we watch the the countdown clock here t-minus five minutes uh 45 seconds now you you mentioned how difficult it is to get people to space just the effort that it takes that the the power that it takes but sometimes it also takes decades and i know so much focus is on jeff bezos yes he's the richest man in the world uh that he's about to leave uh he's also uh the guy with the style with the hat is his rocket is his company but this is wally funk's day in a lot of ways she has waited some 60 years to get to this moment when she was told she was good enough but she still couldn't go back during the mercury 13. but this is the woman who's been a pioneer for a long time she was the first female investigator of the ntsb she was the first faa inspector that was a woman she was the first civilian flight instructor at fort sill and to speak sitting what is this like for you now to to think about her finally getting this opportunity some 60 years late we could argue and just think about that well i'll put it this way when jeff invited her to fly on this flight i cried i mean and especially it's especially a statement from someone you know jeff bezos i mean i don't know him well and at the same time i doubt that he's been denied something that he wants to do in his life based on his sex or his gender on his gender or the color of his skin and for someone who doesn't know what it feels like to be one of those people to then say jerry i'm sorry wally i would like you to come with us it says you matter what you did matters and you you matter for the future and so wally is flying with so many people on board not just aviation people like me but so many uh so many people who have persisted in a dream and knew they could be part of a big big solution and not been able to they know that persistence is going to get them there and that we all have a role to play katie did you feel any barriers when you're joining this program and that we're going to see especially i don't like to think of them as barriers but you know this definitely you know it's a person who uh looks and sounds and and probably feels different than most of the people around them you know you're very visible and i and i at least would feel like you know when i excel i excel for all of us and when i don't excel people are going hmm i don't know about that and you know part of the reason why this is so important that wally's on this flight is that i'd like to say that it's you know only 60 years ago that i mean it seems ludicrous that would people would think i don't know could a woman do that as well as a man i don't think so i mean i've looked at the research you know there's a really i mean it's just the things that they thought would get in the way if women were menstruating that they'd have to retest them all over again because they must be you know different people when that happens i mean these things actually still happen today around the world that women are denying the the right to do the work that they could be doing really really well for our planet so that's why her place is so important today it is very important we just think about looking at the clock we are looking at the clock we are katie so let's go back there on the ground geo it's getting very close we're now under three minutes until liftoff not only a powerful robin you know we heard katie there talk about you know feeling that it's harder on your nerves to sort of watch this than it is to be inside that capsule and every time i'm at a launch and i see the clock going at t minus two minutes like we are right now that's how you feel you feel very excited you feel nervous your heart is sort of racing to watch this happen but it's also an emotional moment because when you're watching this launch you think about all of the incredible engineers and the incredible people that it took to build something like this to literally lift human beings off of this planet uh it's quite an achievement quite a human achievement and there we are we are seeing these moments right here let's stop in this two minutes now let's listen in on the blue origin area it's about to go to space everybody we are in auto sequences [Music] [Applause] the luckiest alright when that engine gimbal check occurs and that engine swings they should actually be able to feel it uh in the cabin because it'll sway the stack back and forth there go the aft thin checks [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] there you see the engine gimbal check just peeking out at the base of the rocket [Music] see we're getting close there look at the clock there up on the right on your screen 40 seconds to go people contributed years to this historic moment ladies and gentlemen it's time for blue origin's first human flight godspeed first crew of new shepherd let's light this candle [Music] t minus ten nine eight seven six five four command two one and there you see it right there blue origin has begun its liftoff into space katy wanted as we're all watching this rocket go up with such force give us a sense of what those passengers are feeling right this moment they are realizing just what i said that it is so hard to leave the planet and they are going and you realize that you are going somewhere and you are just not going to stop until that engine cuts out and then you'll be in space they're getting the g's are starting to build up max q views the highest dynamic pressure of the flight so what does max q feel like it's not a sudden thing for us it's just that you you realize that it's the most stress on the on the vehicle itself and it's it's a nice thing to get done with and that that is the most stress on the parts of the vehicle so now you know your vehicle is doing fine just to see the the glove and what are they feeling inside their bodies at the moment just under our shoulders and to know that we've got a crew that is going to space i think i heard you ask about what it's like they're they're they're actually feeling sort of pressed into their seat as if i tell people it's like having a gorilla set on your chest but sort of like gradually gradually gradually more and more it's a little hard to breathe but at the same time you know that you can you also know it's not going to last that long they're coming up on mock on two minutes coming up on mach 2. and then they're eventually going to hit mach 3 and wait waitlist everything going perfectly so far correct as far as i can engine cut tell that will be followed shortly by separation and at that point after separation we're gonna uh let the astronauts unbuckle and take in the freedoms of zero g there is miko main engine cutoff a beautiful shot down the new shepard rocket look at that view this means they are weightless unreal coming up so once they wait here as soon as they got that separation there was 0g there and here we are you can start to see stand by you're going to see the separation of the capsule from the booster itself katie once the booster separates what's going to happen that's when they are i'm not sure if you could hear that i think that sounds like yeah it does sound like the cool inside right now it's awesome that was definitely and there we go our astronauts have passed the carmen line at about 328 000 feet continuing their ascent you see the two vehicles there when the speed hits zero you know that they've hit apogee they're maximum altitude and you hear they're having quite an experience you can hear it in their voices there's nothing like it floating the flying you're flying inside the capsule and the view of the earth that combination and and those windows are as big as you are and i imagine no matter how many times you practice it still feels different when it's real you know you know we call this civilians in space it's people in space and when it's uh when it's real it's just there's just nothing like that feeling and it makes you realize that there's a it's a whole big world out there in that universe and just waiting for us to explore you can see the separation you see those two ships there so the boosters on the bottom there actually the booster is probably on the top depends on the camera angles but the brighter one is usually the booster [Music] oh [Music] [Music] wally [Music] astronauts [Music] [Applause] [Music] happy happy happy right there almost seven minutes into their flight into space and katie tell people what they're seeing on the right of the screen what is about to make landfall again our booster is about to return to its landing so they're going faster and faster and faster now they're they're starting to slow down and they just that's actually we're looking at the booster there so two things are happening the booster actually lands before they do and you see it coming in for a landing slowing down it's gonna land at about five miles per hour usually right on that launch pad so that's the booster landing that we're seeing right now and they are about two miles away new shepard wow a beautiful rocket that provided a beautiful flight to space first up your booster has landed bullseye for the booster right there on the launch to be able to hear them they're so calm excited but yet so far and now they're just floating see it right there you see the blue origin capsule stand oh so far a nominal flight here comes the crew capsule back from space the drogues deployed here are the mains out reefing and coming to full inflation our rocket went over mach 3 and now they're coming floating back down at just about 15 or 16 miles an hour about to join us home back here in west texas after having gone so robin and george you see those parachutes now those are slowing it down to 16 miles per hour eventually before it hits that desert it's going to slow down to just one mile per hour so it is a slow and gentle descent geo it seemed to go about as well as it possibly could have gone half you know what we had 15 successful tests before this george consecutive test now we can count a 16th it seems uh because this one was the first one with humans on board and it looks to be going very very well multiple sensors just six feet above the ground that that cushion of air will will puff and they will have a soft touchdown almost like just sitting in a chair but i'm sure their adrenaline is pumping what a gentle float and george if you can see the capsule there it's looking a little bit tan touchdown welcome back [Applause] here we go to all of you welcome back to earth 35 seconds ahead of schedule well i have a feeling a lot of people are exhaling right now there's a lot thank you so much they made it look easy but you know it was anything but very happy capcom here as well let's do establishments from being here on the ground you hold your breath from the beginning all the way to the end the sonic boom when the rocket comes back to watching the capsule float down to the ground and land i don't think there's anyone here who is not overwhelmed by the moment i don't think i have been a loss of words for a long time in my life and this definitely one of those moments that leads you for a loss of words this was absolutely amazing and astonishing accomplishment and just goes to show how far we can go when we really push ourselves and um it was great to hear them up there in the capsule having their fun hooting hollering and really taking in the moment because here just watching them with a moment within itself did you feel it i know on good morning america geo was talking about how you have you know he was even saying your organs would be rumbling being that close to you you feel it you absolutely feel it it gets into your chest into your bones the ground shakes it's a little delay you see the rocket go up and you're so far away that then you hear the sound you feel it you see the the the smoke from the the engines when they start them up and it thrusts the space and just can't help but be in awe of watching this this is just magnificent one of the greatest things i've ever seen in my my time here on this planet and um but i'm so happy that this flight went as smoothly and as it's perfectly as it did and i'm so excited to talk to them and hear what they have to say about their experiences as well we cannot wait for that let's give everybody another look at liftoff the chef cleared the tower on our way to space with our first human crew go jeff go mark go wally go oliver you are going to space katie we're going to hear we hope from all the crew members pretty soon about what the experience was like what it felt like everybody said jeff bezos was saying this earlier in the interviews leading up to the to this flight that everybody who's gone to space talks about how it changed them how did it change you that was when the stresses on the vehicle are at their maximum it's hard to ever be the same i think by you know that view looking down at the planet and you realize that basically everyone except the people with you in that spacecraft everyone every earthling is down there on that planet and that we're all from the same place and you don't see those borders and and just that you realize that if everyone could actually meet each other and be connected we could solve anything and i think that when you bring people who have means and resources up and you show them that view when they get back home because home earth is home then they realize they've got a lot of work to do right here and so in a way space catalyzes earth there we see the recovery team is on the scene right now rushing right to the capsule a big thumbs up right there both inside and outside weather balloons that we launched throughout the morning and that gives us a very good idea of where we'll land which are within a thousand feet what you're seeing that they're doing right now is is kevin's program crew member seven is just making sure everybody is okay and gives them a thumbs up they're also grounding the vehicle when you go into space you could accumulate pretty significant electric charge that's actually why we prefer that the astronauts not get out themselves so that we can ground the vehicle of static charge which can be quite strong excellent and i think they're that kevin sprogue our crewmember seven has given the uh given the thumbs up uh for all of our our uh our astronauts that are on board there again jeff bezos mark bezos wally funk and oliver damon what an incredible day you heard them on the audio best day ever i mean this is this i feel like this is our best day ever and we didn't even get to go up to space i mean what a day again congratulations to the entire blue team our astronaut crew and of course the friends and family of these uh incredible astronauts they're just about the exit the capsule here let's wait for that moment there you see jeff in the window george tj this is a new generation we were talking earlier about how we were kids we would watch think about the generation watching this and knowing that anything is possible and they're also thinking that maybe i can go right we're also seeing a new era in space travel to where you can get a seat on one of these yes it's expensive now that we've talked about but they're making it accessible and the whole mission he wanted a blue origin the company is to eventually get people to space to be working living in space and making space travel accessible and easy and this is a huge huge step and i swear guys it's taking them longer to to get them out than it did for the actual trip but it's amazing that we sat here and watched the entire trip to space that took 11 minutes around just under as you said george a little early that's right they were a little bit ahead of schedule look at that smile on the face of jeff bezos i think boy a dream come true for him and he he had his naysayers he had people who did not believe in this and did not want this but he was steadfast and we've heard from so many on the benefits of this and what it can lead to and what it could mean i think the first test flight was in october i think of 2012. go ahead confirm okay i think it means so much to have a crew like this where they're so different like tj was talking about you know it makes you think you know you could go to space but something i think is really necessary is that we see people that kind of feel like us and having oliver on that flight he's 18. first of all he's going to see everything the rest of his life differently but other kids are going to realize in a way that they wouldn't by looking at the rest of that crew that they could be on that capsule and they'd better get ready i think it was something to have the oldest and the youngest together on that on that mission wally is finally an astronaut i think i think wally didn't want to come home i could hear it [Laughter] she may have stayed i can't blame her she's waiting an awful long time i think she would have been a minute oh my goodness you could hear her voice clearly and distinctly pooping and hollering up there oh wow oh you know my face hurts from smiling and i don't know about you but it's it's it's it's so wonderful to watch but there's part of you that just has to it's just when it's over you're like oh i guess i was a little worried about that you took that hat with him you all see that i didn't realize he took that hat with him here he comes and guys it's remarkable to see them walk out here without that traditional spacesuit walking out of a spaceship without that traditional spacer it's quite remarkable to see that oliver congratulations lots of hugs your friends and family right there who are the stories they're going to have to tell love to go to successful launch and landing of the new shepard rocket and crew capsule with our first human flight crew there jeff bezos mark bezos oliver damon and wally funk and their families there giving big hugs all around what a moment so much emotion from all of them the the elation did you see wally did you see why when she came out you know this i told you she was just she was probably going to do a summer you know cartwheel as she came out of that capsule what an incredible incredible day even the play-by-play is not traditional when it's another space flight so much engineering you know it's amazing as well robin earlier i was thinking about all the family and friends who are here and if you really look closely in that video my buddy my good friend tony gonzalez is actually great friends with jeff bezos and tony is out there with the family you know getting his hugs in and sending his congratulations as well so this has just been an historic moment with so many and i think watching them and realize the excitement that they have to go up and be in space but the nervousness and excitement for the family to actually watch this and be here and to greet them when they come out of that capsule that must be pretty overwhelming as well and michael i know you're gonna have to run because you're gonna go try and talk to the crew oliver damon yes i'm gonna get out of here cause i'm gonna go talk to the crew and get first hand how they feel about it and um i cannot wait this is gonna be an exciting interview and uh i'm looking forward to this interview george so hopefully that will be done soon enough and people can hear firsthand how it was to be in space for 11 minutes or 10 minutes and 25 seconds since they were 35 seconds early he just wants to spread spread the love spread the message that i can't wait to hear their impressions of the you know the view from up there and in fact i hear in just a moment we uh we hope to be getting a couple of impressions from our astronauts we'll stand by for that there you see uh the friends the family you see our ceo bob smith there uh you see uh a couple of our other executives of course this crew safety team and it's champagne time everybody it's the only proper way to end the space flight exactly only proper way to end a space flight with a champagne shower and man that is let me just tell you that is the beginning of the celebrations there is a lot more to come we are again not just the crew and the families but everybody at blue origin who has made the historic day possible oh there's a big hug from jeff to wally funk [Music] the oldest person in space you opportunity to go to space in the 60s she had to wait to the 2020s but man it was worth the wait there you see the bezos brothers hugging it out oliver damon you saw him earlier giving his father a big hug a moment you saw the first hug when jeff came out of the castle uh to his mother jackie followed by his father mike i mean again what what a day what a day to the thousands and thousands of members of team blue you contributed to today as well i know you are all hugging it out back in kent washington at our headquarters near seattle sending you guys a lot of love from down here in west texas what a moment [Laughter] i imagine look at this girl i mean granted you know gary we weren't in the capsule but my favorite part was hearing you know the hooting and hollering and the laughing you know jeff is known for his big boisterous laugh i mean he is uh he's having the moment of a lifetime here and you can only imagine as they were floating around up there you saw them say gosh look at look at the views dr olashay successful flight celebratory morning for jeff bezos your thoughts i tell you i this just confirms what i've learned a long time ago and that is humans are dope look at what we can do when people talk about you know earth being visited by aliens we are the advanced aliens right this is what this is showing when you look at the universe this is not happening everywhere but it's happening here on earth and i love it and i'm excited by it and you know what earlier katie was saying how they're going to have great stories to tell hopefully not no one tells the story of their commercial air flight anymore because it's it's routine now hopefully we can get there with this and we can change humanity and we can venture out further i'm incredibly excited about this and i love their excitement i'm excited with their excitement well dr alesha you summed it up for us all this morning you get the last word humans are dope successful successful launch of the new shepherd spacecraft jeff bezos and his crew it's here and it's now and i remember going into space for about 10 minutes 25 seconds it doesn't compare it doesn't matter this is this is real this is so much better than anything that that we could have ever imagined the the again the emotional component to human space flight we've had 15 consecutive test flights which as you said earlier is why we knew that it was we were ready to put people on board this this this rocket and that's what led us to today to know that we could do this we could do this safely and to give people the experience of a lifetime and i think based on uh based on what we see there i think you know job well done sir job well done and not only did we do it today we can do it again and again and again and again precisely absolutely love it that was amazing everybody i want to thank you all for joining us from around the world for today's blue origin historic first human flight it's been a moment for the ages and guess what we're just getting started we've got two more flights this year and several more in the coming years i want you to join us a little bit later today we're going to have a live press conference on our website so there you have it the new shepard spacecraft back on earth jeff bezos and his crew walking away after their 11 minutes nearly 11 minutes uh tripped to space experiencing that weightlessness and keep in mind that michael strahan will be talking to them shortly and bringing that interview too looking forward to hearing that we're going to go back to our regular programming right now [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you
2021-07-22 21:40
