dragon was well underway. at space x headquarters in hawthorne, california, we met the astronauts training to be its first crew. >> coming out here, it's a real motivator. this work force is so young. they're excited about what they do. they're passionate about what they do, and it kind of reinvigorates you about why you got into the business so many years ago. >> for apollo 11, the average age of a flight controller was 26. there is precedent for this. >> obviously we weren't there, but i would certainly say the nasa of the '60s was not drastically unlike space x of now. learning as they go, learning about flying in space, learning the hard lessons and being successful. >> start and lift off. >> reporter: hard lessons like this one in 2015. a falcon 9 rocket lifting cargo to the space station disintegrated minutes after lift off. >> and we appear to have had a launch vehicle failure. >> reporter: and last year another setback when a crew dragon capsule exploded during a

ground test. >> while it's disappointing, it also can be a real gift to the final design. >> reporter: the company embraced its failures. >> to be totally frank, if it hasn't been some hardware on the test end, i don't think you tested it hard enough. that's the reality. >> i think sometimes the aerospace industry shies away from failure in the development phase. >> reporter: gwen shot well is space x's president, musk's right hand. >> it looks bad politically, it's tough and the media certainly makes a lot out of failures. but candidly, that's the best way to learn, is to push your systems to the limit, learn where you're weak and make things better. >> lift off. >> reporter: spacex is armed with an escape system. if the rocket falters, its engines can push away the capsule, landing the crew safely in the ocean. >> and we have splash down. >> reporter: you genuinely

believe if something goes wrong, you've got options? >> absolutely. >> we focus on reminding folks there are people on the pointed end of the rocket ship. that's important to us. >> there's another aspect of it, we are kind of an extension of what they're trying to accomplish. that's really their goal, is to safely fly humans. so i think we kind of bring that home as we kind of walk through the plant. >> reporter: this launch shapes up as space x's pivotal test yet. succeed and back into space launching businessness. fail. launching its own astronauts into space again will be setback irn definitely. >> my heart is sitting right here. and i think be it's going to stay there until we get bob and doug safely back from the international space station. >> reporter: nine years ago this july, american astronauts last left planet earth from american soil. >> all three engines up and burning. 2. 1. 0.

and lift off. >> reporter: the final mission of the space shuttle era carried a special pay load, a small american flag. >> the crew is intending to leave that flag on the international space station. >> reporter: it's been a sentimental fixture floating above earth ever sense. >> so it was a good way to say, hey, next time somebody flies something from the united states, this flag is going to be up there waiting for them. >> reporter: but no one knew how and when. astronaut doug hurley piloted that last shuttle flight. did you think then that the person who might bring that flag home could be you? >> no, absolutely not. i mean, i didn't think i was going to fly again necessarily, let alone be potentially the guy that goes up and gets it. >> reporter: hurley and astronaut bob will make history when they blast off from florida's kennedy space center. >> liftoff. >> reporter: they'll climb aboard a spacex rocket and launch into an era of human

commercial space flight. >> i think the most exciting thing about this mission for both doug and i is bringing that capability and inspiring hopefully another generation of engineers and scientists to challenge themselves and to try to do great things like our nation does. >> reporter: when the shuttle retired in 2011 -- >> the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage at an end. >> reporter: nasa's astronauts had only one way to get to space. >> and liftoff. >> reporter: hitching a ride on a russian rocket. >> the partnership is strong, but we don't want dependency. >> reporter: nasa administrator, jim bridenstein. some of it is american pride. >> prestig, i think prestige. they want to launch their own rockets into space. >> reporter: in 2014 nasa hired boeing and elon musk's spacex to be their uber and lyft to the

space station. for nasa it's more cost-effective and allows the agency to focus on the science of exploring deep space. [ cheers and applause ] spacex beat out boeing in being first to fly. its design has a "back to the future" feel and flashy new technology throughout. >> it's been described as a flying iphone. >> i remember that comment. >> it's a pretty big iphone. three touch screens in front of you. at least give it credit to be an i-pad. >> reporter: spacex has a track record bringing cargo to the space station. this time for the first time, the reusable rocket's capsule will carry people. do you have any reservations flying for a company that has never actually put someone into space before? >> i don't think reservations are the right word. i think what we really concern ourselves with as test pilot school graduates, what's the plan look like? tell me the buildup we're going to march through.

let's look at the details of that. when all those things are done appropriately, we'll be ready to fly on it from a human perspective. >> reporter: does it mean something to you guys in this new age to be the first? >> after you come back and it's successful, you know, bob and i can go hang out someplace and have a beer and maybe then we can reflect on, you know, all those things. but it's kind of -- you're just so hyper focused on getting to that point and making it a success. >> reporter: landing the modern spacex capsule back on earth will have a more retro approach, a splash down like the apollo moon shots of the 1960s and '70s. >> and it has potential, then, to really be a means for bridging differences and bringing people together. >> reporter: margaret widekamp is a space historian at the smithsonian national air and space museum. she hopes this new era of exploration may help unite our polarized country just as apollo 11 did at the height of vietnam. >> there is always something

that stirs the heart in a different way when you know that you are watching something through the eyes of a fellow human being. i think it puts us sitting in their seat. we imagine ourselves looking through their eyes. >> reporter: and after months of covid misery and fatigue, experiencing that feeling of wonder, riding the rocket along with benhken and hurley. after years of training, the astronauts arrived at kennedy space center on wednesday. they were greeted by a mask-wearing jim bridenstein. something in all the years of preparation no one could have ever predicted. >> i think right nowth midst of this pandemic where people are struggling with maybe even just simple motivation, maybe people are concerned about the future, what nasa is so amazing at doing is bringing people together and inspiring them for a future that is brighter than today. >> that was mark strassmann

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(vo) bounty, the quicker picker upper. the planned launch of the spacex falcon 9 rocket this afternoon will carry astronauts bob and doug to the international space station. they'll meet up with fellow astronaut chris cassidy who has been in command of the iss since last month. tony dokoupil spoke with cassidy

about this historic mission. >> reporter: all right, commander chris cassidy. we're on the brink of a major milestone in space flight in the history of space flight up until right now. only countries have put a capsule into orbit and then brought it back, and now we could have a company do it, spacex with two of your colleagues, two american astronauts on board. how big of a deal is this mission? >> oh, it's a gigantic deal. we retired the shuttle for very sound reasons when that decision was made, with aims to move towards the future. and now the future is here. >> reporter: one of the questions when nasa teamed up with commercial companies to try to do something like this was, how will the culture of safety at nasa match up with the corporate ambition of a company like spacex. so how confident are you that as your friends get into that capsule they're going to arrive ere safely? t

spacex all with motivation to do the same thing, that's fly missions effectively and safely. i think it's been healthy for both the commercial guys who faster, faster and cheaper, and nasa with a more decades-based of safety culture, i think it is of been healthy for the growth of both organizations. >> reporter: are you worried about coronavirus as these additional astronauts arrive? >> well, certainly we're worried about it. we have confidence in the testing of the program and the regime that the medical folks are putting bob and doug through and the protections that they have will mitigate that as low of a probability as we can. i was joking around with my colleague, my crew mates last night. maybe we should have them come in through the hatch and make a hard left and we'll isolate them here in the corner for a couple weeks before we'll treat them to a meal. >> reporter: all right. well, we wish everybody luck, and i have to say, commander cassidy, as i say good-bye. as a florida boy who grew up watching the space shuttle and

the space program, it is a joy to talk to you. >> i enjoyed my time at cbs. >> cbs coverage of the historic launch

the simple act of riding a horse can be a life-changing event for children with special needs, but the pandemic has kept most of our equine friends in the barn. as don dahler reports, some families are working to make sure their kids will be able to saddle up again. >> reporter: there is an unlikely you taupe i can unlikely utopia in new york city gallop nyc where people with special needs learn to overcome fear with an 800 pound helper. she rode a horse for the first time. her mother lisa said it changed real.lyirives as been. >> reporter: do you think it gives her a certain confidence in dealing with the word? >> 100%. >> yes. >> she just said yes.

it just puts a calming effect onto all my children. >> reporter: but due to the shutdown, this is gallop nyc today. normally on a day like this, this place would be bustling with kids and horses and activity. instead, it's almost a ghost town. most of the two dozen therapy horses that live here have been sent away. >> there would probably be 20, 25 people here, right. we'd have a handful of students riding, three or four students riding at a time. >> reporter: executive director james wilson. >> it's cheaper to take care of them upstate. >> reporter: they're out to pasture. >> they're out to pasture. also we wanted to minimize the number of horses we have here in case we had staff get sick. >> reporter: the cost of maintaining the horses and staff at their two locations in new york is more than $100,000 a month. with no people coming, revenues plummeted. from south carolina to california and around the world, over 800 equine therapy organizations are struggling to

survive. but in new york, the families whose lives have been touched by these animals are making sure they're cared for. over 300 contributed to a gofundme effort. >> if this drags on through the summer, are you guys going to be okay? >> yeah, yeah, we are going to be okay, absolutely. i'm committed, our entire network is committed, our entire community is committed for us to be okay. >> these people are amazing. they're like family to us there. >> reporter: if i can ask, do you love horses? >> yes. >> we all say there is some magic connection with the children and the horses. >> reporter: and some day, the children and the horses will be reunited. don dahler, cbs news, new york. >> and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs this morning". and follow us online any time at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's

capital, i'm chip reid. captioning sponsored by cbs y ♪ ce officers fired. >> o'donnell: breaking news tonight, four police officers fired. shocking video shows a white officer kneeling on the neck of a black man for several minutes. >> i can't breathe. >> o'donnell: the man dies in custody, and now the f.b.i. is investigating. tonight, protests forming in minnesota. the u.s. death toll nearing 100,000 on hopes of a new vaccine and economic recovery, the stock market rallies. trading returned to the new york stock exchange but with temperature checks, no hand shakes, and fewer workers. we'll tell you which states are seeing cases rise. and apple makes a major announcement. confrontation in central park. the video that has sparked a national conversation.