now at 5:00. a critical decision. there's a big vote >> and ready for liftoff. the countdown is on for bezos' liftoff to space. >> the covid surge coming as kids head back to school the new bush from the american academy of pediatrics about what should knapp class. >> and is it black friday in july? this is a picture of of of of o outside a local best buy store. >> good morning. welcome to tuesday, july 20th. >> we want to begin with a check on our forecast with

mike. >> no fire threat, no thunderstorm threat. that comes in the back half. the possibility of a little lit of drizzle toward the coast. this is pier 15 watch out for that during the morning commute. breezy through fairfield. the winds will be south of the bay bridge notice without those breezes in the north bay you'll hit the low to mid-80s and still a few low to mid-90s. we'll take a look at that threat during the week and some monsoon weather coming up. in less than an hour billionaire jeff bezos and his crew will be launching into space jobina, we know that jeff bezos made a surprise appearance overnight. >> here's a live picture from

van horn, texas. this morning's flight will send the rocket 62 earth, above the 53 miles 53 mi richard branson reached last week. the brothers didn't answer any questions. some are criticizing this as a joyride for the ultrarich. bezos said the trip is the first step in a much larger plan. >> we're hoping to build the road to space so future generations can do amazing things. so that's the real goal. >> reporter: it will be a quick trip to space, just three minutes to get there. then the passengers will get to

unbuckle and experience three minutes of the weight lessness. >> the launch is putting the tiny town of van horn on the map. for years this was known for its farming, ranching and mining. now it's the port. you can watch live as jeff bezos and company launch into space on blue origin. our live coverage starts at 5:40 this morning. the city council is casting a preliminary vote on the proposed howard terminal ballpark for the oakland a's. a yes vote vote vote vote vote

amy hollyfield has more. >> reporter: it's a critical moment the a's want approval to build a now complex complete with housing, retrail and office space the a's have said they are not interested in prebuilding at the current coliseum site. many are asking why they can't stay there. today the city council's vote is nonbinding, but the a's say if the council votes for it it will keep it alive and if they vote no, they will move to another city. they said today's vote does not have to have so much writing on it. >> i don't think this will be a make it or break this meeting. the city council will likely vote on something or at least agree to something or a certain direction, but the question is whether the a's will buy it. >> reporter: one critical issue is the funding for the howard

terminal site. the a's want the city to pay $850 million, using taxes. the city said it does not want to use taxes for the project. there are also questions whether any of the housing will be affordable as city leaders have asked. the a's have said no the council will meet at 9:00 thinking. amy hollyfield reporting. >> thank you. the future of the oakland coliseum site is on the agenda. council members are expected to vote whether to enteenteente negotiations with the african- american sports and entertainment group. other groups have expressed interest. napa and santa cruz just

joined the push to encourage masking inside regardless of vaccination status. that means solano county has own to weigh. governor newsom was asked whether he would impose a mask mandate. >> we are also committed to addressing the slightest increase in the number of new cases in the state of california. >> nearly 21 million californians over the age of 1 are vacs nateed. a new rule said students must wear masks inside schools. everyone will mask regardless of vaccination status. oakland's teachers union begins negotiations today but doesn't see any changes that would delay the start of the school year. >> we're doing everything we

can to ensure our families, staff, students are all staying safe. >> classrooms are equipped with air filtration systems. one bay area organization is facing a unique challenge -- the number of people skipping their second covid dose. the rafiki coalition for health and wellness says there has been a 40% increase in testing at their bay view site but the turnout is not the same for vaccines >> getting you to get the second dose has been its own barrier, whether the side effects from first test or a lot feel like they're vaccinated. >> what we need to know about the second shot is there is a 100 fold great need to respond come paired to the initial

immunization. the cdc urged warnings to avoid nonessential traffic to the uk. it was raised to the highest level. the uk is seeing a surge in new cases, about 50,000 a day. we'll keep an eye on the stock market. the dow just had its this year. it dropped 725 points. they fear the delta variant could threaten the recovery the tamara rack fire has prompted more evacuations. late yesterday afternoon residents were warned to leave alpine county. the fire remains out of control burning over 39,000 acres. some who left said they only had a few minutes to grab their things >> they gave us about 20 minutes notice. they said looked like the fire

was about five or six hours away. an hour later it was right on us. >> lightning sparked the tamarac fire july 4th. the tamarac fire is burning south of lake tahoe. look at the map. the beckworth complex in plumous county is 88% contained. look over to the you see the dixie fire in butte. it has ballooned. pg&e said the equipment might have sparked this wildfire. a worker reported seeing lone fuses in a conductor atop of a pole and a tree leaning into the conductor and also fire at the base of that tree. so far no buildings have been lost and no one has been hurt. you can see live updates with

our wild fire tracker. you'll find the icon on our website abc7news.com. thankfully for us, the winds have been very favorable. mere's a look at the guide, hazy. just a little bit of smoke, too thick, red and purple. that's what you will be dealing with north of tahoe all throughout today. look at that, billows of smoke, very accurate air moving in. thankfully not a very populated hear. if it shifts 100-miles to the north this will start hitting some pretty populated areas in idaho. so keep an eye on it. you may have some friends up there. all right. here's a look at the coliseum. you can see the marine layer. it is back. so morning clouds, that's about the only issue for your commute this will be breezy and chop

ni. clean air still moderate to mainly good all the way through thursday. now if you're stepping outside you can definitely feel the coolness. the trivalley in the mid to upper 50s, about 5 to 10 degrees cooler. elsewhere 50 at santa at santa novato. also cooler this time yesterday. as we head throughout the day you can see clear conditions in the south bay. the coast is 60. mid-70s to mid-80s at 4:00. we'll take a look at the seven- day forecast coming up next. here's jobina. we have a very clear commute to start off the morning. look at the map. everything is green except for the usual slowdown. the chp has not issued advisories, nothing for wind, nothing for fog is.

starting in emeryville, the headlights are westbound on 80. the same thing on the san mateo bridge. traffic is starting to pick up. we've been seeing this especially along the peninsula. so keeping an eye on that for you but everything else is looking good. reggie and kumasi. new pets arriving at the bay area shelter. >> this man robbed at gun point while washing his car. now the family is taking matters into their own hands.

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ed to the danville police officer facing charges for killing a man will appear court. prosecutors said andrew hall used unnecessary force when he fired during a traffic stop in

2018. last month hall plead not guilty. now to a story you'll only see on abc7 news. a san francisco family taking matters into their own hands after a scary incident. >> this father was held at gun point while he was washing his car. the men put the man and his wife and two daughters inside the bathroom. they stole thousands in jewelry. the next day the father and his family went around the neighborhood explaining what happened. >> when you see a neighbor telling what happened, they take it to heart. >> if they want the possessions, let them have it. >> the father suffered injuries to his face. the rest of list family was not physically hurt. san francisco does have a new plan to crack down on

crime, especiallies a tourists return to the city. there are 26 additional officers to iconic destination frcio bye thalso be ambassadors wearing vests. abc7 news said this isn't enough >> the fact that the homeless is out there, the criminal element is out there, all that is very real. >> sfpd's chief said it's a good start but a far cry from the additional 400 he would like to see. bay area shelters are coming to the rescue of hundreds of dogs and cats in

need. they came from hayward, an overburdened shelter in tulsa, oklahoma. >> all these animals seem great health wise and temperament wise. thto be spayed and neutered. many aren't. floors within a week. >> if you would like to adopt, the humane society has a list of those participating in the effort. it looks like black friday outside a best buy. here's a live look at that line outside the store on heritage street. this location is getting some graphic cards made in by navidia. a global shortage has created a

red shot market. they are available for in-store only to cut down on scalpers. >> this is a hot commodity. every gamer wants one. unfortunately, to get one we all have to wait in to get one >> so here's another live look. the price tag is about $1200 into $1200 for the card. >> yeah. >> oh, my. and they have awhile >> four hours hours hours hours drizzly as it will be the the t

couple of mornings. all right. here's a look at walnut creek. the marine layer is 1500 feet. it's having a hard time getting past the east bay hills. all right. so for tonight expect more clouds and little more drizzle. most of this is confined to the coast this morning. there's a possible return of monsoon moisture this weekend. right now you can see the orange. that is dry air as we look at the water vapor, the amount of moisture in the air. the monsoon has been pushed well over into the four corners region. that's where this will stay for pretty much the remainder of the week until the week. let's talk about the temperatures. we have a breeze coming off the bay. it will keep us in the mid to upper 70s. the farther you are away, ar hotter. 86? los gatos. about 90 in gilroy.

68 in san bruno. mid to upper 70s for the rest of the peninsula. head out to the coast. temperatesaround 60 to 62. let's head up to the north bay. 60 at bodega bay. pretty much low to mid-80s you breeze keeping us in the low to mid-70s. as we head inland we'll have purpose 80s through 90 through the trivalley. from concord, temperatures in the mid-90s. around the state look how much quieter it s no thunderstorm threat, no reg reg. no fire danger. yosemite at 99. 69 in monterey. for us we're back into the 50s. you'lled in more green. that means more drizzle. have the windshield wipers ready. cooler on thursday. the greatest amount of

cover and summer-like friday buck s d wis could win it s cou all. the suns are looking to force a game seven which would be back in their arena. the nba countdown gets you ready for the game that starts at 6:00. stay tuned for after

here are the seven things you need to know today. let's take a look at van horn, texas, right now. in about 30 minutes, jeff bezos and his crew of three will be blasting off into space. is that them driving up there right now. a little bit about this. the 11-minute flight will send the blue origin rocket two,we'r away from a pivotal vote that could determine if the a's stay in oakland. the team wants approval to

build on howard terminal complete with housing and retail space the american academy of pediatrics is recommending masks in schools for everyone regardless of vaccination status. number fourth quarter the tamarack fire burning in alpine county is burning south of lake tahoe. if you're heading up to the high country, watch out for the air quality. for us back here at home we're close to average except for around the bay and south, places like san jose and redwood city. that breeze will keep you cooler. >> number six, we have a really great commute. showing you our 880 coliseum camera, and walnut creek moving limit. a solar car will compete

the challenge in kansas next week. today's "gma" look at prince harry. >> reporter: prince harry's project is growing buzz. the duke of sus sex will pen his story. the book's publisher saying harry will gift definitive account of the experiences that shaped him. the book reportedly a surprise to his father, prince charles. much of the focus the past year has been on harry and his family running high since he stepped down from his official royal duties to make a new

with meghan in america. reporting for abc news, new york. hot summer weather and giant slip and slide. what can go wrong. >> odness. dad came through right? she's looking like i was minding my own business. so this iowa dad scooped his daughter up in the scoop of time. mom shared the video. she said the toddler loves the slip and slide and kept running to the bottom. she said she was impressed because she knew her husband would grab her. this happened over the 4th of july. mom said they were on the slip and slide for about seven hours. >> check out this girl, though. sheff definitely got hurt. >> mom said nobody got hurt.

i love a good slip and slide. >> you have to look and see if someone's at the bottom before you get on it. >> he had a plan. still ahead, fans weigh in on the future of the oakland a's ahead of that crucial ballpark vote. >> and jeff bezos and the crew are heading up. no pilot. it's auto made the. the i'm morgan, and there's more to me than hiv. more love, more adventure, more community. but with my hiv treatment, there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen... to help you reach and stay undetectable. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed and get to and stay undetectable

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building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc7 news. it's a really critical month for the franchise and baseball in oakland. now at 5:30 we're urvote. concern about the spread of the deputy variant. the mounting pressure on the

cdc top change its guidance for schools. jeff bezos moments away from blasting off to of the atmosphere. we're standing by. good it's tuesday, july 20th. forecast. notice the cloud deck about 1500 feet. it as not made it to the south bay or the east bay. it's south of the bay bridge. notice we're mainly in th 70s. 79 at san jose. not much of an influence east bay. low to mid-90s there. 66 in san francisco. as far as as as as as forecast goes, mine for cooling inland today and tomorrow and thursday when we'll have the most cloud cover and the greatest amount of drizzle into

the morning. that will taper as temperatures return to average. boy sunday and monday we'll watch that monsoon flow and see if it comes back. today the oakland city council will be casting an all important vote that could decide the fate of the a's staying in time. >> the team said a no vote would trigger their move outside of oakland. amy hollyfield has more on the impact it's having on the community. >> reporter: today's vote could kill the project and send the a's to another city, possibly las vegas. the city council will be asked whether they support building a new complex. if the vote is yes, that doesn't mean it's a done deal but it does keep hopes alive. if vote is a no, the a's have said they will start making plans to leave. the fans said the thought of losing the team is

heartbreaking >> i've done to games at this stadium since i was a little kid. it hurts my heart deeply. i was in high school when the raiders left. i was here when they came back. >> reporter: another proposed idea is to build at the current coliseum site. this would be a cheaper alternative and avoid using tax payer money which the city says it does not want to do. the a's said they do not want to play at the coliseum site. they want the howard terminal site. live in the newsroom. amy hollyfield, abc7. >> all right. now to the pandemic. california health officials are going against cdc guidances and pushing for masks in schools. there are new recommendations from the american academy of pediatrics. >> reporter: the academy is

telling parents, teachers and students they should wear masks inside the classroom regardless of their vaccination status. the delta variant accounts for the most hospitalizations among people who are unvaccinated. right now children are not eligible. the new guidance goes against currencdc guance. the cdc said vaccinated people do not have to wear a mask in schools. >> you can understand why the american academy of pediatrics might want to do that. they just want to be extra say the cdc recommendations may be appointment variant with that. in every respect, the cdc also leaves open the flexibility on the part of local agencies, local enterprises, local cities and states to make a judgment call based on the situation on the ground. >> the cdc is under mounting

pressure to revisit its mask guidance after the recommendation. here in california education and health officials have already made the call to require masks in school. a stanford verrologist have discovered why many are are are covid months later. dr. bruce patterson said people who feel fatigue and brain fog are not making up their symptoms. there's a specific kind of white blood cell called monosites. >> they're acting like like lik garbage can. they're going around scavenning dying cells. >> the doctor said

an inflammatory response. his research is leading to better treatment. a san francisco man who said he nearly died from covid asked for the site to reopen. while urging residents to get vaccinated, san jose's planning commission said that local health officials should help people get vaccinated. >> i am pleading with our community to please get vaccinated. >> i'm convinced i would not be here today. i want to make sure we don't lose any lives. >> overall nearly 80% of county residents have been fully vaccinated. if you have any questions, you can ask the abc7 vaccine team. go to abc7news.com/vaccine. coming up next, jeff bezos is blasting off into space.

we're standing by for special coverage of the blue origin launch. >> this is a look at van horn, texas. >> getting buckled in. >> the launch is happening in a few minutes as these folks get comfortable in their seats, the largest windows ever. we'll be right back. >> i want us all to look. >> real conversations with you, about equality, disparity and building a better bay area. >> we cannot afford to be

jeff bezos is moments from his trip top to space. >> he will blast off with brother mark. let's check it out. >> "new shepard" has cleared the tower. >> everybody who has been to space says it >> everybody who's been in space said it changes them in some way. i'm trying to figure out how it will change me. >> four astronauts launching to the edge of space with unmatched views of the earth below. >> oliver, welcome. welcome. you're my fellow traveler. i'm excited we will do this journey together. >> i'm going to

window. >> blue origin, civilians in space in west texas and time scare in robin robert, george stephen curry and michael strahan. >> good morning. thank you for joining us. you see the countdown blue origin spacecraft. it's on a launch pad right now. it will be around 9:00 a.m. >> that's right. that will happen in a little bit. oh, my gosh. when you think about it, the billionaire, amazon owner and founder, jeff bezos along with

three other civilians, mark wally funk, oliver damon all will launch to the edge of space ground breaking. all of this 11 minutes. it's an 11-minute expedition. it's named for am an shepherd. >> 11 minutes, they will go up, float for a couple of minutes and float back down. today's date chosen for a a special reason, the first first apollo landing july 20th, 1969. >> jeff bezos talked about it at ice high school graduation about space. michael is smack dab in the middle of it all, a secluded desert in van horn, about 120- miles from el paso. he will what is 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. one of the biggest highlights for these civilians turned astronauts, for three of those minutes 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 seat, george. >> what a change it is, robin. remember we used to watch the spacecraft go up. there were tiny windows when we were growing up. on this aircraft 60% of the capsule's 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. >> you probably remember, it was just nine ago that richard

branson took one to the edge of space and beyond beating bezos in the long-standing rivalry in the race to space tourism. but this, this mission is different. bezos and his crew are actually -- they'll be crossing the carmen line 62 miles up 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 launchpad 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. that was all earlier today and now we're just about less than 20 minutes away from the launch >> that's right. at the top of the hour and the trip will take a total of 11 minutes as we said and here is

what you and they can expect to see. >> 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 mikko or main engine cutoff and it separates from the rocket and they can unbuckle and experience weightlessness, four minutes into the mission the crew capsule reaches the highest point of 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 shepard" 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 bezos, a financier also a volunteer firefighter since 2 2005. also, wally funk who trained to go to space 60 years ago in a women's program later canceled. she never actually flew to space and now at 82 she is poised to be the oldest person to do so and last but not least 18-year-old oliver daemen 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 of this really my whole life. but 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 lymph the earth's atmosphere and teaches them how fragile and precious the planet is. i'm excited to find out. >> can you put into context for us 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 them reusable and in an operable way to be used over and over like commercial airliners. if we get to that stage then the things that the next generations will figure out what to do in space, how to benefit earth with all the things they do in space

will be amazing to see. that's the real goal. >> well, they trained for 14 hours for this 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 outdoes me, gio benitez, our abc transportation correspondent. and, gio, you were actually at the branson launch last week. >> yep. >> you've been here the past few days and got a chance to sit in the training module. how was that. >> just incredible, michael, because this is the training module they've been using all weekend long 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 put you through the simulator. you hear these sounds and feel

that vibration. it's something we'll feel on the ground. but certainly not what's happening inside that capsule so you'll really feel it. >> realtime, it's going to be hard for them to relax regardless but a lot may say this is just a billionaire's race to space but it's a lot more than that. >> reporter: look, this is obviously right now, you have to be very, very rich to afford a seat on this flight to afford a seat on virgin galactic. you have to be rich but what they argue is you have to start somewhere and that's how you're going to start. you'll 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 micro gravity and that's important because you have universities that need to conduct research and different pharmaceutical companies that 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. >> i got to say down here on earth they've done a lot for the community in van horn because it has created a lot of jobs here, you guys, so, george, i'll throw it back to you. >> joined by t.j. here in the studio with us as well. and, robin, i remember when we were growing up everything stopped when these rockets first went into space. the moon landing 50 years ago, t.j., you weren't even born. >> i wasn't but i was the shuttle kid, right? our era was the shouldles. i remember atlantis, discovery, "challenger." i can still remember the teachers wheeling that television into the room on that cart guiding us to watch it. i've been getting messages talking about how much energy and alive we seem this morning working, it's because it gets you excited. no matter what it taps into this childlike sense of wonder and hope and exploration when talking about space travel.

>> another barrier being broken. a lot of experts to break it down. former astronaut cady coleman. dr. akeem olushay and another woman who travelled to space as a civilian. >> let's begin with you, cady. thank you for -- i can only imagine. i can only imagine how you must be feeling right now, cady, 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 -- what is the thing they had trouble with in training to make sure they do right and at the same time, you know, even just walking up those stairs to the launchpad, there was only just a few people on that launchpad and just being one of several, you know, i mean not very many people. you look around and see the whole landscape.

it's just you and your rocket. i think they got to really feel a little bit of the grandness of the day but right now they might be focused on just making sure they're all set. >> there does seem to be a little bit of a delay. the countdown clock is holding at 15 minutes even though the time is still coming down. >> they keep saying it's on time and we'll keep an eye on that, but -- because they are saying it still should be going off at the top of the hour but that's nothing unusual. that is like most missions that we've had. you see delays like that. but, cady, wally funk, you talk about her. we have been talking about her. her chance to make history after training to be an astronaut so many decades, never getting the chance to fly until now. what do you think is going through her mind? >> i think she realized how many people that she brings with her. when she and the other 12 women that are referred to as the

mercury 13, they passed the test that all mercury 7 astronaut has passed and either had been doing it as well or better and were scheduled for further testing 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 really so much for all of us and all of us who have dreams who persist. >> let me bring you in. you were the first woman to pay to get to space on a russian soyuz spacecraft. tell us what the training was like and the experience was like. >> training first.

a lot of mental training and mostly just preparing yourself for the experience. getting familiar with the systems and emergency training trying to make sure that if something goes wrong you know how to react. >> hakeem has joined us also. author of "a quantum life." 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 depending on how powerful your rocket is and how long it burns for. they have so many different safety redone dantes built in. they have an emergency abort system that separates the capsule from the rocket booster and also the capsule is far away from the rocket booster so if 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 rocket booster it's about a 1 out of 100 probability. but the threat to the crew is much lower because of all the safety redundancies they have in. it's ten types lower, it's like 1 in 1,000 which is standard for rockets like this. >> let's go to gio. gio, any insight into what's happening on the ground. one clock moving, one clock is stopped. >> reporter: yeah, george, so we're trying to figure out why there is this hold. we're seeing a hold for about six minutes at 15 minutes here. but you know what, one of the things that's happening here, 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'll wait to find out exactly why. we know it's now not going to happen any earlier than 9:04:00 a.m. it may be pushed back a few more minutes but we'll be watching this right here. >> you were on the scene of the virgin galactic a couple weeks back. there was a much longer delay. walk us through what was happening there. >> yeah, so virgin galactic, basically what was happen something they had some overnight storms that were moving in and the winds were very, very intense is there in new mexico. and they had to roll out the spaceship over to the launchpad 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 rollout 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 minute. >> has the bezos team told you anything at all? >> reporter: no, they are -- they actually told us, george, they don't know why and trying to go back and speak with mission control to find out exactly why but we have our producer gina also reaching out to the folks there to try to find out. but, oh, there we go. 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 cady coleman. a veteran of these mission, not unexpected to have a bit of a delay. >> it's definitely not and basically you go 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 everything is set and right and i like a lot of the way i hear the blue origin team talk about having go fever. >> 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. >> well, they've got -- 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 you're just 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 is 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 you kind of like look at and feel separate from. >> dr. oluseyi, because we have been talking about a lot about the billionaires, we had richard branson and now we have jeff bezos, can you help people understand the importance, why, why should the average person be

excited about today? >> 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 until the 2000s they were paying something like $20 million a ticket and now for these missions it's come down by a fact of about ten so what's happening here is that this development that's being done by these three companies, right, we have to include the orbit tall company too spacex because 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. 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's one asteroid out there

that's valued at not trillions of dollars, but quadrillions to quintillions of dollars if we can actually mine it so what we're looking at is being done by billionaires, but if you look at the beginning of automobiles and 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 where everyone can take an airline flight. perhaps in future and we're talking perhaps decades or not everyone can take a space flight. >> let's talk about the future. talk about what you expect in the immediate aftermath of this, of this flight. >> well, assuming everything goes right, we entered into a new era, right, and we now have a space race between two sub orbital corporations that are

doing things differently.