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Connect the World
All-Female Crew Set To Lift Off On Blue Origin Rocket; Stock Futures React To Tariff Exemption On Electronics; Trump's Handling of U.S. Economy; EU Chief To Meet U.S. Counterparts in Washington; CBS News-YouGov Poll: Trumps Approval Ratings Slide; Israel Strikes Last Functioning Hospital In Gaza City; Israel Occupies Morag Corridor, Isolating Rafah; Moscow Ramps Up Attacks On Ukraine Amid Talks With U.S.; Trump On Tariffs: No One Is "Getting Off The Hook"; Blue Star Studded Space Tourism Flight Launches; Blue Origin Astronauts Emerge Tourism Flight. Aired 9a-10a ET
Aired April 14, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00]
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: This is the scene in Van Horn, Texas where Blue Origin's New Shepard launch is taking place. It is 8:00 AM
there. We're tracking that story for you very closely.
It is 5:00 PM here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World." Also coming up on the program, the U.S. President's economic
approval rating takes a hit after his tariff announcements in Gaza. Israel striking the last remaining hospital, putting it completely out of service.
And Russia intensifying its attacks in Ukraine with the deadliest single attack on Ukrainian civilians since 2023.
Well, let's take a look at how U.S. stock markets are set to open in around 30 minutes from now, and it is green across the board. Everyone watching
very closely potential exemptions on certain products coming out of China that is going to boost the markets. They're waiting for stronger messaging
from the White House.
In the meantime, it is an exciting day for space flight. We have eyes on West Texas right now where a star studded all female crew is set to lift
off on a Blue Origin rocket. Some of the big names on board, pop star Katy Perry, along with Journalist Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez who is the
fiance of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
And the launch window in West Texas opens just minutes from now. We've got our Ed Lavandera nearby waiting for the rocket to lift off. And I believe
we have live pictures. Ed, good to see you. We've got some live pictures coming through. Tell us what we're seeing, what we're expecting, that
window opening in a few minutes.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. We've been watching over here, over the last few minutes as the crew of this rocket
and capsule are beginning to make their way to the loading dock and making those final preparations before, as you mentioned, this New Shepard is
expected to launch.
The window for it opens in about, 20 minutes or about 08:30 Central Time. So, here at the bottom of this hour. The weather here this morning is
spectacular. And as you mentioned, this is the first all-female crew that Blue Origin has had. They've had 10 other flights before this with 52
people going up into space at least briefly. This will be the 11th, rocket launch and mission, that takes the humans into space.
So in the way this will work over the course of this very short ride into space, it should last anywhere from 10 to 11 minutes. That rocket launch,
we are about four miles away from it. You can see it just past those buildings way in the distance over there. When it launches that capsule
about two to three minutes in will separate from the rocket booster, and the capsule will begin traveling into low orbit.
This is a suborbital flight, so it's not going to make any kind of trip around the world or anything like that, but it is a brief trip. It will --
and the crew on board will experience weightlessness for about two to three minutes before it begins the process of descending back here to the desert
area of West Texas. And that capsule will land back here on the desert floor, not too far from where it launched about 10 to 11 minutes earlier.
As you mentioned, this is a star studded, crew where you have the world renowned pop singer, Kate Perry. You have Gayle King who's a morning show
journalism host here in the in the United States. You also have Jeff Bezos' wife Lauren Sanchez who's a helicopter pilot in her own right, making her
first trip on this rocket, as well as three other women, filmmaker and other research scientists as well.
And it's been kind of a spectacle to watch as the Blue Origin space company has been carrying out their own broadcast of the events here. It's, you
know -- it's much more -- it feels much more like a spectacle than it does any kind of a science experiment if you will. But nonetheless, this is
clearly an energetic morning here for the crew that's getting ready to take off on this rocket.
[09:05:00]
GIOKOS: And so there's certainly a lot of excitement around this. And you mentioned there've been 10 flights so far with 52 other people that have
taken this flight. And I wonder why there's been so much criticism around this one being an all-female crew. What's that about?
LAVANDERA: Well, there was the actress Olivia Munn who kind of questioned why exactly something like this was necessary. The, obviously, the crew and
the Blue Origin folks really have been leaning into this message of trying to inspire either younger people to get interested in space travel and that
sort of thing that they're hoping. And the messages that they've been communicating throughout the morning here is really, one of one of
inspiration in trying to connect others and make this something that people -- average people can feel some sort of connection to.
But there have been some who have criticized it as kind of as something that, you know, essentially, as the actress Olivia Munn said, it's like,
you know, why is this being done? What is the point of all of this for a for a short trip in into space? So that's, you know, something that we'll
continue to see unfold here as more of these missions get lined up in the future.
GIOKOS: Yeah. As we say, well, there's already been 10 of these missions, and I'm sure they'll continue. In the meantime, we'll be watching the all-
female crew. As you say, Ed, a few minutes to go before the window opens, and we're watching the story very closely for you and we'll bring you the
latest when it happens. Ed, good to see you.
All right. Meantime, we're less than half an hour away from the opening bell on Wall Street, and you can see stock futures here. They're all
pointing to the green and, of course, a little bit of a boost when we heard, Donald Trump's decision to exempt some electronic goods from his
reciprocal tariffs.
That move announced late Friday coming after roller coaster week in the global financial markets highlighted by the president imposing a 145
percent tariff on Chinese goods imported to the United States. The Commerce Secretary says the latest exemptions are only temporary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America. Donald Trump is on it. He's
calling that out. So you should understand these are included in the semiconductor tariffs that are coming, and the pharmaceuticals are coming.
Those two areas are coming in the next month or two. So this is not like a permanent sort of exemption.
He's just clarifying that these are not available to be negotiated away by countries. These are things that are national security that we need to be
made in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, uncertainty about tariffs and what comes next is taking a huge toll on President Trump's approval ratings. The CBS News YouGov poll
showing 56 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the U.S. economy, a seven point increase from February, and his overall approval
rating has slid lowest since then. Democrats and other critics of the tariffs accused the president of creating global economic chaos with no end
game in sight.
Meanwhile, in the face of uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariff plans, the EU is hoping it can get some answers as its trade chief holds talks in
Washington today. Maros Sefvovic will meet with the U.S. Commerce Secretary and other officials. President Trump has paused a 20 percent tariff on
imports from the EU for at least 90 days.
Nic Robertson is following the developments, from London for us. Nic good to see you. So what's on the agenda today? I guess the big question is does
the EU have any leverage here in these negotiations?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. And I think the big question for the EU will be coming into this, you know, what can they
understand from the United States? They've been very clear as von der Leyen, European Commission President has been very clear they're ready to
talk to the United States, ready to discuss these sanctions.
But as you've been talking about there and a lot of guests on the shows this morning have been talking about, that's a moving picture. And that
that lack of certainty, that lack of clarity, what precisely does the United States want? What precisely does it want from the European Union?
How can these gaps in tariffs that President Trump perceives be narrowed?
For Maros Sefvovic, a real, you know, experienced negotiator for the European -- well, representing the European Union, is going to go into this
clearly worried about just hearing over the last over the weekend there that pharmaceuticals are going to come up for a round of tariffs in the
next few days, in the next week or so. That's clearly very important for the European Union.
[09:10:00]
But he'll also want to explore the ideas that have been floated in the United States that the European Union can close this perceived tariff gap
by buying more energy products, LNG, liquefied natural gas from the United States. But, you know, what are the specifics? How much? When should it
happen? Can the EU absorb? Does it have the technical capacity to absorb everything that the United States might want to sell? Those are going to be
the concerns.
But the clear position of the European Union is which is a massive the biggest trading partner of the United States is also to their own audience.
They haven't had this sort of roller coaster of responses in tariffs to the United States. They've prepared some responses, but they're not putting
them in place. They want to be seen as a reliable, responsible, consistent trading partner.
So they're going into these talks feeling that's precisely not what the United States is. So part of their message will also be to send a message
to their markets that they are stable, reliable, and dependable as they try to get through this with the U.S.
GIOKOS: Yeah. All right. Nic Robertson, good to have you with us. Much appreciated.
Well, China's Leader is looking to strengthen regional trade ties. President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam today and will visit Malaysia and
Cambodia this week. All of those countries have seen growing trade ties with Beijing. President Xi says he plans to emphasize stability and
cooperation in trade in an apparent contrast to the chaos surrounding U.S. trade policy amid the Trump tariffs.
We have a lot to unpack out of the Trump administration. We've got Lena Treen at the White House for us. Elena, it's great to have you with us.
President Trump is injecting uncertainty into markets causing immense volatility we've seen. It's eroding his approval ratings as well. What is
the latest polling, and how is the White House responding to these figures?
ALAYNA TREEN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. I mean, look. The polling is definitely not moving in a direction that I think this White House would be hoping
for. I'm just going to quickly walk you through some of the top line numbers, Eleni, about what we're learning from this new CBS YouGov pull out
today.
So just to talk about more broadly, the president's handling of the economy, of course, as you mentioned, as all of these tariffs have created
a lot of uncertainty and led to a lot of volatility in the markets. The latest on that is that 56 percent of Americans disapprove of President
Donald Trump's handling of the economy that's compared to 44 percent who approve.
But if you look at earlier in March, the March, March 2nd, only 49 percent of Americans disapproved of his handling of the economy. 51 percent had
approved back then. So, clearly, those moving's not -- those numbers not moving in the right direction.
Now if you want to look at his overall job rating, Americans, say that 47 percent of them approve of the President's overall performance, 53 percent
disapprove. That's compared to really just if you flip the numbers in February, it was 53 percent approve of his handling of his overall job
being done compared to 47 who disapproved back in February. So, again, these numbers not moving in the right direction.
Now all of this comes as we are kicking off, Eleni, just another week of economic uncertainty. We know that the President has said yesterday that he
plans to roll out new tariffs on semiconductors this week. That comes after they had kind of signaled that would they would be giving up a reprieve to
some of these different consumer electronics on Friday, particularly those who are being impacted by the tariffs on Beijing.
All to say, we're going to learn of more tariffs this week, still more uncertainty. I think you can expect more volatility in the coming days as
well as it relates to the markets. Eleni?
GIOKOS: All right. Alayna Treen, thanks so much.
Israel attacked the last fully functioning hospital in Gaza City over the weekend. The airstrike put the hospital completely out of service according
to the Palestinian Health Ministry. It comes as Israel intensifies its assault across the enclave, taking more territory and displacing hundreds
of thousands of Palestinians.
Israel has now occupied the Southern Morag Corridor, essentially isolating the City of Rafah from the rest of Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in
Jerusalem with an update for us. Jeremy, give us a sense of where the Palestinians can go at this stage given the level of evacuation orders we
are seeing.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, over the course of the last month, the Israeli military has issued nearly two dozen evacuation
orders to Palestinians living in Gaza, and we are seeing as they are being forced into an increasingly shrinking part of the strip, that we should
note is itself not fully safe or clear of these air strikes that we have been witnessing inside of Gaza.
[09:15:00]
And what's effectively happening is that they are being forced into the central part of the Gaza Strip as Israeli ground forces move into Gaza from
the northern part of the Strip as well as from the South, especially with this renewed offensive that we've seen in Rafah. And now a goal to set up
this Morag Corridor, which would be yet another way of dividing up the Gaza Strip similar to the Netzarim Corridor, which separated Northern Gaza from
the South. This one would separate Southern Gaza from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
But, the pressure that Palestinian civilians are feeling in Gaza is not just from these evacuation orders, which the UN High Commissioner for human
rights is now warning is putting people into shrinking spaces with fewer lifesaving services. But we're also witnessing as the pressure is being
applied on Palestinian civilians from an aid standpoint as well. It's now been since March 2nd that any kind of aid has gotten into Gaza.
No food, no water, no medical supplies have been able to reach the strip since March 2nd and that is leading to increasing warnings of a heightened
state of crisis in Gaza with most bakeries now having shut down, and food supplies rapidly dwindling. And then on top of that, you add this Israeli
strike yesterday on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, which was the last fully functioning hospital in Northern Gaza. That hospital has now
been effectively shut down with only a few dozen patients still remaining inside.
This is a hospital that would treat about a thousand patients per day, but now they are unable to provide any emergency services or most, medical
services for that matter. The Israeli military carried out that strike after giving about a 20 minute warning. The Israeli military claimed that
there was a Hamas command and control center at that hospital, though they still haven't provided any evidence to back up that claim.
We know that one boy with a head injury died in the evacuation of those patients. And, of course, the only thing that will bring an end to all of
this is another ceasefire. We know that negotiations are quickly ramping up on that front, but so far, no real concrete signs of progress.
GIOKOS: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.
Russia appears to be intensifying its deadly attacks on Ukraine as diplomatic efforts to end the war drag on. On Palm Sunday, two Russian
ballistic missiles ripped through the northern city of Sumy, killing at least 34 people and wounding more than 100 others according to Ukraine.
It's the deadliest single attack on Ukrainian civilians since 2023. And earlier today, Ukraine says a Russian drone strike injured at least seven
people in the city of Odessa. The attacks come just days after U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an attempt to
speed up peace talks.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following the story for us from London. Salma, good to have you with us. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling
for a strong response from the world over the attacks, and so far international condemnation from Ukraine's allies has been swift. What's the
response? Take us through it.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the most puzzling response, Eleni, of course, you've mentioned that condemnation from European partners
and the international community, but the most puzzling response has been that of President Trump who said onboard Air Force One that he was told,
quote, "that it was a mistake."
Now he didn't provide any clarity on that comment. He did describe the attack as something horrifying, but it contradicts exactly what we're
hearing from Ukrainian officials who are accusing Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and deliberately choosing a time when Sumy, the area
that was attacked, would be bustling and busy as people were preparing to go to Palm Sunday prayers.
Not only that, Ukrainian officials are also alleging that Russian forces used cluster munitions, highly controversial bombs, which drop these little
explosive devices that could spread out over a great distance and cause injuries far after the actual attack. That's why you're hearing President
Zelenskyy accusing Russia of dragging out this war.
He is pointing to this incident. He has shared social media video of it and is saying this is why you cannot trust Russia. Essentially, I'm
paraphrasing here. This is why you cannot trust President Putin as a good faith actor in these negotiations. But as you mentioned, American mediators
are barreling on with those talks, while what we actually see happening on the ground is an intensification of attacks by Russia claiming more lives.
Eleni?
GIOKOS: All right. Salma Abdelaziz in London for us. Thank you.
Confusion and markets as U.S. policy on tariffs continues to shift. We have a latest for you just after this. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
GIOKOS: Welcome back. Another week of economic uncertainty ahead with global markets have stabilized somewhat after the Trump 90 day tariff pause
and what was thought to be a tariff exemption for technology products.
That exemption now again in question after President Trump's Commerce Secretary said the exemption was temporary. Asian and European markets are
all higher U.S. futures also positive ahead of Wall Street's opening in just a few minutes.
We've got Martha Gimbel joining us. She's the Executive Director of the Budget Lab, a nonpartisan Economic Research Center. Martha such a volatile
few weeks, few months. Great to have you with us. I really just want to get through some of what this ultimately means. Is it bad messaging? Is it bad
policy? Is that a mixture of both? Is this a sign that markets have just not priced in the political uncertainty that comes with this new
administration?
MARTHA GIMBEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE BUDGET LAB: Yeah. I mean, if there's two separate issues going on here. One is the tariffs, you said, are they
bad policy. Bad is one word for it. I don't think any economist thinks this is even approaching bad. We would take bad at this point this is
catastrophic.
The other issue is that when you were coming into this administration, people on Wall Street were talking and pricing things in as if the Trump II
was going to be the same as Trump I. That was not what was being signaled on the campaign trail, and that's not what they've done since he's gotten
into office. And so Wall Street is now having to adjust to the fact that they're not getting what they thought they were going to get.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, I want to talk about the bond market, because it's been really interesting to see how you're seeing investors offloading bonds
and just not going into bonds. And U.S. bonds were always deemed as sort of a safe place to park your money, and that's now shifted. So what does that
mean in the short and long term for the United States and the economy? Because these have ramifications. I think people look at the bond market
and say, you know, I don't really understand this, but frankly, this is a sign of what the world thinks of America.
GIMBEL: Yes, it is. I mean, one of in the short run, right? It's going to increase borrowing costs, which is not ideal, you know, in the long run it
is a sign that people are starting to price more political risk into the United States. That's not something the US is prepared for, and frankly,
it's not something the global financial system is prepared for, because it has always just been thought of as the U.S. is the safest place you can
possibly be. And if markets have to reprice that there's going to be some bumpiness ahead.
GIOKOS: All right. Martha Gimbel, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for your insights. We'll speak again soon. I'm sure my. I'm sure,
markets are extremely volatile. Who knows what will happen next?
All right. You're watching "Connect the World." When we come back, we'll have more on the upcoming Blue Origin launch. Stay with us.
[09:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi and you're watching "Connect The World." Now, six women, many with the names you know, are
buckled into a Blue Origin Space Capsule for the ride of their lives. The all-female crew getting the chance to do few others ever will get to do,
ride a rocket to the edge of outer space at three times the speed of sound.
For more on this, I now want to bring in CNN Aerospace Analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, great to have you with us. I think the window open in
around four minutes from now. Very exciting. My understanding they're going to breach the common line that's 100 kilometers above sea level. Tell us
what we're expecting to see in the next few minutes.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Yes. So 100 kilometers, Eleni, that's significant because that's the arbitrary borderline to space, or at least
that's what we all agree to be the beginning of space. What we're going to see here is a very short mission, 11 minutes from start to finish, with
about four minutes of weightlessness in the middle.
Six women, some of them very famous, and of course, with Oprah on the ground to watch her friend Gayle King adding to the luster of stars as
these people head toward the stars. But it's all systems are go. You can see they're starting to retract the launch gantry from the spacecraft and
we will be hopefully getting a little bit of a view of this flight as it happens in real time.
GIOKOS: All right, Miles, I want to listen and I think we've got some sound from the command center.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two days becoming a crew, becoming a team.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After you go through an experience like this, it's, it's more than a team. It's almost like a family. You are so tight to go
through something as intense as this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Executing out fin, built in test.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And everything looking really good, Ariane (ph). So far from mission control everything is clean and green for this launch. T
minus one minute to go here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Engine thrust vector control built in test and work. Vehicle is now on internal power.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So in a moment here we'll see those what they call the BIT checks, the Built in Test Checks. As you mentioned, Kristen (ph),
inside the capsule, you know, as you said, this is like, like a, a bridled beast. This, this thing wants to take off.
[09:30:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Switch to onboard helium.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go. Good luck and Godspeed, ladies. We're cheering you on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's launch this rock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Termination system is armed. T minus 22 seconds and counting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Team guide us internal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: T minus 10. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. Command and D start. 2, 1. Ignition. Lift off. New Shepherd has cleared the tower. 6,000 feet
climbing. Begin throttle down for Q limiting. Engine response looks good. Max Q. Maximum dynamic pressure.
Mach 1. Vehicle is supersonic. Engine back up to full throttle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Super Sonic. We have passed through max Q. Maximum dynamic pressure. That's when the vehicle, the stresses between the
atmosphere and the speed are there maximum, sort of punch through that is so important. You see the BE-3 engines it's firing beautifully. You see the
stream of steam behind it. Those ladies right now are incredible view on their way to space.
Passing through 80,000ft. 1,300 miles per hour. You're going to peak at about 2,300 miles an hour over Mach 3. Three times the speed of sound.
Shortly coming up, we'll have MICO, Main Engine Cut Off. We will turn off the engine. But the two craft, the capsule and the booster will continue
their ascent.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that right there is the most critical milestone of this whole ascent. Oprah is watching her best friend go to space. And the
two craft is separated. 328,000 feet, or 100 kilometers. Welcome to space ladies. Or shall I Say astronauts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, the moon. You guys, I have to tell you, look at the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. That's our pink moon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you, Jeff Bez. (inaudible) space.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just in case it wasn't clear, those are their voices that you're hearing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there they have hit apogee, the highest point in flight. Well over 345,000 feet, well over the common line.
[09:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And at this moment, the astronauts have unstrapped from their seats. They are floating, they are weightless. They are
experiencing zero G for the very first time in their lives.
And Katy Perry did say that she was going to sing in space. I'm waiting for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Waiting for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One minute warning. One minute warning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So that is Capcom indicating a one minute warning for our astronauts to take in those last views before they get buckled back
into their seats. At this point, both craft are descending already.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, guys.
(KATY PERRY SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you hear --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dragon report status.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy it. Report status.
GIOKOS (voice-over): The moment there of the New Shepherd taking off. Breaching the Highest possible point, 100 kilometers above the common line
and now descending. And you could hear in their voices, ecstasy, elation, excitement. Taking it all in. We've got Miles O'Brien still with us. I have
to tell you, Miles, my heart rate increased watching this. Very exciting and clearly very, very interesting. Let's listen back in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- comes into land. Shortly thereafter, you will see the drag brakes that deploy that will cut the speed of the rocket in half.
And then in the last moments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there it is. We can see it from the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There comes the rocket down. It's going to relight its engine. We can also see a sonic boom. We're going to hear that shortly
here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And remember, this is something that had never been done before until just a few years ago. Truly the stuff of science fiction
that you're about to watch in just seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drag brakes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And booster touchdown. Welcome home, New Shepherd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Picture perfect landing right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Picture perfect landing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right on target.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See that just kind of creates this dramatic cloud that gets -- that reveals the beautiful --
GIOKOS (voice-over): After breaching that highest point, 100 kilometers. And we've got Miles O'Brien with us. And I was just saying my heart rate
increase. I don't know how you're feeling, but this was super exciting, hearing the voices coming through, seeing the faces, emotion on the ground
of Oprah, Jeff Bezos watching on and clearly very successful, Miles.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yeah, I. I was listening to Oprah talking to the commentators before the launch. And she said as we watched the capsule come
down with the. The participants in this event. And she was saying that Gayle King is a very nervous flyer. So I'd be very curious to see how this
went for her. I'm sure she was going in there with a little bit of hesitation.
OK, parachute is open. That's always a good thing.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah, exactly. I mean, I was getting nervous for everyone. Yeah.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Well, you know, this is a pretty safe way to do a short hop to space. It has a very robust emergency system which allows the
capsule to separate from the booster rocket if there's any problems along the way. And that's been tested over the years. This is the 31st New
Shepard flight, the 12th involving human beings inside. They do a lot of scientific payload missions as well.
[09:40:00]
But this brief experience to space does give them bragging rights at a cocktail party for sure. I don't think the term astronaut necessarily
applies in this case, but maybe that's a semantic discussion.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah, exactly. I mean, we actually heard the commentators say, you know, the new astronauts, which was really
interesting to hear that. But here's the reality. They did breach that 100km common line. They experienced zero Gs for the very first time. I
mean, this is quite an experience.
And they keep talking about wanting to democratize us and sort of inspire other people to do this. But this is a very costly exercise, Miles. And you
can just see it from the images that we're seeing right now.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yeah, they don't publish the ticket price, but Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's competitor to Blue Origin, charges in excess of
$600,000 for a seat, so you could imagine it would be similar to that.
No one knows the financial arrangement here, of course. Ms. Sanchez is the fiance of Jeff Bezos, so I guess she gets the family rate there is certain
there. And we now have a soft landing on the desert floor there a couple of hours from El Paso. And we'll be hearing from the participants very soon.
But to -- I mean, it's a fully automated system. You know, I just flew back from Europe on Friday and I wouldn't call myself the pilot of that
aircraft. So it's just a question of how you characterize these things. I guess, the reason I quibble about it is I don't want to demean in any way
or undermine the accomplishments of people like Suni Williams, who we just saw come back from the space station after an extended stay. Truly a heroic
Astronaut. And to categorize this in the same category, maybe not accurate.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah, there is a distinction to be made between the two experiences, for sure. I was just listening in to some of the
commentary and they were saying, you know, they've reached critical milestones in the ascent and those were quite important.
I guess, that would -- that's what made me feel a bit nervous, because I had to breach certain levels of safety. Could you take us through that and
what it means to go so fast above that common line?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yeah, they, you know, they called out what is Max Q is the term, and that's an engineering term, meaning that is the absolute
maximum stress on the vehicle. As the vehicle gets higher and faster, the atmosphere thins out quite a bit. So actually the stresses on the vehicle
tend to diminish after that point that we call Max Q. And that's a place where you want to pay a lot of attention because if things might break on a
system, that's when they're being fully stressed.
They achieve speeds of 2,300 miles per hour, so I guess about 4,000 kilometers per hour. That's three times the speed of sound, which is a lot
faster than flying on that airline I was just telling you about. Of course. So there is some risk involved in all of this. But it's far short of what
it takes to get to orbital flight, which would be on the order of 20,000 kilometers per hour, 25 times the speed of sound.
So. But there they are on the desert floor having experienced four minutes of weightlessness, having crossed the line into space, and we'll hear what
they have to say about all that. I did not hear Katy Perry saying. I think she promised to do that. But maybe we'll hear more about that later.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah. I know, right? I was expecting a bit of a song. I mean, look, four minutes isn't a long time. And you heard the voices
like, oh, we can see the moon. And this is amazing. So I think they were taking it all in, but here's the capsule and actually I saw a few hands
moving, waving.
What happens next? Capsule has landed. Its soft landing. We can see. What happens next, Miles?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Well, I think you can see on the split, split green, the convoy is on its way to them. Obviously a big desert out there and
they're going to go -- I think you can probably see the vehicles headed in their direction. As soon as they get there, they'll pop the hatch open and
begin the festivities. I think a little champagne might flow and there'll be some in the moment interviews.
I remember very distinctly one of the early missions. William Shatner of Star Trek fame, of course, flew and he was very profound in his comments
afterwards on what it was like to be on the edge of space and look into the deep void. And he actually described it as -- when he saw that darkness,
described it as the deepest kind of grief he's ever felt, which is interesting. But it was a very profound moment for him, and I'm sure we're
going to hear similar expressions of what it meant to these women.
[09:45:00]
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah, and there's a recovery crew that's currently en route as we can see some of the images that we're experiencing right now.
I'm just curious, Miles, in terms of precision, where they'll land, what kind of radius are we talking about here? How precise is the point of
landing?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Well, it's not as you -- saw the booster come down on that bullseye. That is very specific. And because they come down on rocket
thrust, which allows them to pilot it in a very precise way.
When you, when you come down under a parachute and you're subject to the, whichever way the wind is blowing, there's a little more margin for, I
wouldn't say error, just the landing zone, the ellipse is much larger. And so but there you see, they know pretty well where it's going to be, and
obviously they had no trouble finding it. Fortunately, that's good.
It helps that you have a helicopter in the air and you can see the vehicles now arriving and very shortly they'll open up that door and we'll get some
insights on our latest spaceflight participants. I think this is probably 53 through 58 on the spaceflight participant number for Blue Origin.
GIOKOS (voice-over): There we go. And we can see the recovery crew now getting close to the capsule. Any moment now we will be seeing the crew
members exit the capsule. I can also see to the right of my screen the Kardashian family. This is, obviously, attracted a lot of celebrities to
watch on. Miles, you know the Kardashians, right?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yeah, I guess you're reached a full level -- it's a full level DEFCON 1 celebrity event when the Kardashians show up. Right. So
I guess, I guess you've, you've made it if you've got the Kardashians for sure --
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah, yeah.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): You've got Oprah, the Kardashians, Gayle King, Katy Perry, quite the star studded event. You know these women are quite
privileged to have this moment and enjoy it. And, you know, I hope they can put into words the meaning of a joyride like that, because it's hard, I
think, sometimes to explain what you've been through in those situations.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah. Miles, we actually have a start from Oprah. Let's listen in to what she said earlier. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are wearing yellow because Gayle's call sign is Sunshine.
OPRAH WINFREY, AMERICAN HOST AND TELEVISION PRODUCER: Is Sunshine. Yes, right. And all of us, the whole family is wearing yellow today. And 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 think for her, who anytime we're on a flight, she's in anybody's lap. If there's the slightest bit of turbulence. Has, like, real,
real, real anxiety --
GIOKOS (voice-over): Yeah. OK, so Miles, here we go. I mean, it's basically repeating what you said earlier, that she -- that Gayle King had major
anxiety. But I just wonder because I'm seeing all of these celebrities on the ground and there's so much excitement around this. How much of this is
about the science and how much of this is about the experience? Or is it just about both?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Well, lady, I don't -- I'm sorry to be sound like a curmudgeon, but there's no science, really, that was accomplished on this
mission. They were floating around for four minutes, enjoying the view. And, you know, quite honestly, they are fully passengers. It's a completely
automated system, and there were no particular duties that they had except to enjoy the moment, which I'm sure they did.
So, yeah, what you're seeing is a spectacle. What you're seeing is attracting a lot of publicity for Blue Origin. And so I think you can draw
the conclusions about what the real mission here is. It's not about seeking science at the edge of space. It's about us watching and talking about it
and the Kardashians and Oprah weighing in, I guess.
GIOKOS (voice-over): And that is exactly what we're doing. OK, let's look at the recovery process. We've got images of that coming through. We're
still waiting for the crew members to exit the capsule. You know, and I wonder when we watch this and because we do enjoy this. You know, I think
we all deep down say, do we get to have this opportunity? It is a hefty price tag.
Is this about democratizing space travel at some point? Because the technology behind this, in making it easier, making it cheaper, making it a
lot more precise, should go somewhere, right? This could create more advancements within the space and field.
[09:50:00]
O'BRIEN (voice-over): You've hit the nail on the head, lady. That's what we're seeing here, is the democratization of space. The ability to send
more people into space if they want to, for various reasons, has been the goal of the commercialization of space for many decades now. And we're
getting to the point now where this is becoming a little more, I wouldn't say routine when you're spending half a million dollars plus to go on a
short ride.
But if you think about aviation in the 1920s, for example, that was a very privileged perch to be on an aircraft flying across the country, and only
rich people did it. And today we have an aviation system which is accessible to millions of people. And so this is potentially one of those
steps.
What is sort of missing from the equation and the question which has to be answered is, there are reasons we get on airliners. We want to go see our
relatives in Cleveland or wherever. What are the reasons to go to space? Is it purely for the pure joy of it? The experience of being weightless, of
looking down on the planet? That in and of itself is of value to a lot of people. And clearly for these six women, it had some value. But ultimately,
what are we going to do in space once we get there? And will people pay to do that? Those are important questions which aren't fully answered yet.
For now, it is the province of people who have deep enough pockets to get on a spacecraft like this and get a short taste of it. And if you have
deeper pockets, maybe an orbital mission and a little more time in space. But in the end, I'm not sure how that leads to necessarily millions of
people going to space, just as we have millions of people flying on airliners. But, you know, we'll see, we'll watch this all unfold. It's nice
to see more people having access to it.
GIOKOS (voice-over): OK, we're watching live pictures. We're seeing Jeff Bezos right outside the new blue shepherd capsule that has just landed. And
we're waiting for that door to open. This is the 11th flight. There have been 52 other people that have taken these missions, and now another six
woman, the first all-female crew.
We're watching the recovery crews. We see Jeff Bezos there. And as I said, Miles, this is the 11th mission, right? There are 52 other people that have
taken these flights, taken these missions. So we're seeing an increase. Do you think that would -- I mean, in terms of the demand that's come around,
the interest, this is going to increase dramatically. One would suspect if you look at the trajectory and the share numbers thus far.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yeah, I mean, I think the price needs to come down a little bit to really make it broadly available to a lot of people. I
suppose that will happen over time. But, you know, right now you're looking at the one and only New Shepard capsule that has flown all of those
missions. So it's not like there's an assembly line of other suborbital capsules that Blue Origin is producing.
In the meantime, though, Blue Origin is aiming for orbital missions. They've actually flown a rocket they call New Glenn after Senator John
Glenn, the American hero, the first American to orbit space. And they are working on orbital missions. Of course, SpaceX has been flying orbital
missions by the dozens and hundreds for many years right now.
So it is happening and it is getting cheaper to get to space once it starts. Taken out of the realm purely of the government and the
accessibility is increased. But it's -- these are baby steps on the way toward, you know, full democratization of space, whatever that may look
like.
I mean, of course, if you ask Elon Musk, there'll be, you know, encampments of human beings living on the surface of Mars for long durations, and that
seems a long way off right now, but it's not inconceivable either.
GIOKOS (voice-over): OK, let's listen in now. There's Jeff Bezos opening the capsule.
JEFF BEZOS, AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN: There's your baby?
LAUREN SANCHEZ, JEFF BEZOZ'S FIANCEE: Where are my babies?
BEZOS: Over here. Go see them.
[09:55:00]
SANCHEZ: Where? We have to go there. OK.
BEZOS: Right there. OK. Katie.
KATY PERRY, AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER: Thank you. Thank you.
BEZOS: Angel (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
BEZOS: Gayle.
GAYLE KING, AMERICAN TV PERSONALITY: I just have a moment with the ground. Let me just appreciate the ground, for just a second. Thank you, Jesus. Oh,
my God. That was amazing.
BEZOS: Yeah.
KING: That was amazing.
BEZOS: I'm so proud, so proud of you. Amazing, amazing. I'm so proud of you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not working, so someone just tell me when we're on. Is anyone have on --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. And you just saw it there, all six astronauts coming out, all ecstatic.
GIOKOS (voice-over): All right. OK, this -- now the crew -- the six member crew have just exited the capsule. Miles, I was really entertained to see
Gayle King kissing the ground saying, Thank you, Jesus. Katy Perry also kissed the ground, by the way. Clearly happy to be back on Earth. You can
see the elation. You can hear the elation. I'm sure this must have been an adrenaline rush.
You know, I take roller coaster rides. I love this. I love those things. But this must have been absolutely next level.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): I should say. I've often --
GIOKOS (voice-over): All right, we're listening in. Can we listen in? Do we have sound on this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lauren, I want to cry just seeing you.
SANCHEZ: I'm so proud of this crew. Like, I mean, Gayle, you know, we were just talking in the capsule. Doesn't even have ear piercings. She's so
afraid to do anything. And she got in that capsule, and I think, like, they profoundly changed her.
I mean, for me, I don't -- I can't put it into words. But, like, I looked out the window, and we got to see the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was pink. Was it pink?
SANCHEZ: Full moon. It wasn't pink, but it was almost full. And Earth looked so -- it was so quiet. It was just quiet. And --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it what you expected?
SANCHEZ: No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better?
SANCHEZ: Yeah. I don't think you can describe it, because you know what I was saying, it was, like, quiet, but then also really alive. And you look
at it, and you're like, we're all in this together. Like, that's all I could think about. Is like we're so connected. More connected than you
realize, because you just see right here. You see, like, you know, states and all these things that, like, divide us, but we're not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what is your emotion? What makes you emotional?
SANCHEZ: Joy. Complete and utter joy and gratefulness. Like, it makes me want to come back and just hug everyone and be like, oh, my God, we're in
this. We're in this together. Like, that's what this is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Jeff had told you that it will change you more than you know. And I know you're only a few minutes removed from the
capsule, but I can tell already.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah. I did. I'm like -- I don't -- I don't cry that often, so I didn't expect to be this emotional, but it's also all the love that
was in that capsule and all the. And all the -- the heart and the feelings and all the things and, like, seeing Jeff before I left, I just went like,
yeah, you know. I had to come back.
[10:00:00]
END
