captioning sponsored by cbs >> dickerson: i'm john dickerson in washington, and this week on "face the nation": warning signs about new coronavirus cases, extreme weather affecting tens of millions, and the threat to russia, following the latest cyber attack. just one week after america declared its independence from covid, there is even more scientific evidence that freedom from vaccination comes with a price. >> the sad reality is that despite our progress, we're still losing people to this virus, which is especially tragic given at this point it is unnecessary and preventable. virtually all covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the united states are now occurring among unvaccinated

individuals. >> dickerson: we'll check in with dr. anthony fauci and dr. scott gottlieb. and then june went down in the record books as the hottest month of june ever in the u.s. is july shaping up to be even hotter? we'll take a look at what is causing this extreme weather. plus, president biden puts pressure on russian president vladimir putin after u.s. te intelligence links russian hackers. >> you said three weeks ago there would be consequences. will there be, sir? >> biden: yes. >> dickerson: we'll talk with jeh johnson about what those consequences could be. and as americans hit the road and the skies for summer travel, we'll talk with united airlines c.e.o. scott kirby about the industry's recovery. then, after two decades, the u.s. military presence in afghanistan is nearing its end. we'll have a report from kabul.

and finally, a look to the heavens, where billionaires are engaged in a space race. it is all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪ ♪ >> dickerson: good morning. and welcome to "face the nation." more than 151 million american adults are fully vaccinated. but just under a third american adults have not had even a single shot, which is worrisome to health officials. the delta variant makes up more than half of all of the new cases. and there is now confusion over the role of the booster shot. we begin with dr. anthony fauci. >> doctor: good morning, john. >> dickerson: let's talk abut the delta variant. it seems to make the case for vaccination more affective, with those that

are unvaccinated the most getting infected. is it people delivering the message to those who are unvaccinated that that it is almost inexplicable why people, when they see the data in front of them, that they don't get vaccinated. we have a delta variant that you mentioned, john, that is easily transmissible, much more easily and readily and efficiently from person to person than the other viruses, the other variants, that we've dealt with. that's the first thing. the second thing, the data that is hitting you right between the eyes, is that 99.5% of all the deaths to covid-19 are in unvaccinated people. so you're talking about something that is life-saving. so the idea of why some people, for whatever reasons -- and we know some of them are

ideological, we know when you look geographically in the situations where you have undervaccinated states, where you have 30% or less of the people vaccinated -- we've really got to get beyond that, and we've got to put those kinds of differences asidean when you hear people at rallies talking, don't get vaccinated, don't get vaccinated, john, it doesn't make any sense, because we're talking about a public health issue that is life-saving for you, your family, as well as your community. so you're right, we're in a very difficult position. we have more vaccines in this country than we know what to do with. everybody and anybody can get vaccinated. and we have people throughout the world who would do anything to get vaccinated because they appreciate the importance of safeguarding their health. so it is a very, very frustrating situation. >> dickerson: i want to get to the science of the dealt variant in a minute,

but let's stay on this question for a moment. you say the facts are hitting people between the eyes. is it possible people are a little scared and nervous, and they don't hear evidence. what they hear is, you're a dummy for not getting this. essentially, people feel insulted when the evidence is presented that it should be clearly obvious to any normal person, and all that does is put them back in their corner? >> doctor: you have a point there. john, that's the reason why what is going on is getting trusted messages. not government officials like myself, but trusted messengers in the community to outreach to people. those messengers could be your family doctor, it could be a clergy person, it could be a community leader, it could be a sports figure.th community. so you're absolutely right. telling people you've got to get vaccinated, you've

got to get vaccinated -- i think it is important to point that out. people do need to know, not in a prejorative way, but just look at the data. 99.5% of all of the deaths are among unvaccinated people. so we have vaccines that are highly, highly affective. and what we need to do is to get those trusted messengers, which we're trying to do, to get out into the community and explain to people, you know, in a non-finger-pointing way why it is important to get vaccinated. >> dickerson: the delta variant acts differently, depending on the vaccination. massachusetts has a high vaccination rate, and mississippi has a low one. the majority variant in the country and it is only going to get worse, tell me how people who live in those two states should think about the delta

variant, given the levels of vaccination in those two places. >> doctor: okay, john, that's a great question and it's a pretty simple answer. the vaccines that we have available to people, for example, that you mentioned in massachusetts and other states, who have a high degree of vaccination, are quite protected against the delta variant. all the data that we have from this country, and from several other countries, not just the united states, shows that the vaccines that we are using right now do very well in protecting against the delta variant, particular protecting you against severe disease that might lead to hospitalization. so for those states that have a very, very low level of vaccination, you're dealing with a virus, the delta variant, that is highly efficient in spreading from person to person. and the numbers don't lie. in those states, where you

have a low degree of vaccination, that's where we're seeing surges of infection, which are followed by surges in hospitalizations, which will ultimately lead to increases in deaths. so it is pretty clear from the data, john, that if you are vaccinated, your risk is extraordinary low. if you're unvaccinated, you have a high risk of this very nasty variant, the delta variant. >> dickerson: let me switch to the question of boosters. pfizer this week said there is evidence that immunity diminishes from the vaccine, and they've called for a booster shot. the c.d.c. and the f.d.a. said in a joint statement: "americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time." any statement that says "at this time" can, of course, change tomorrow. so what is the situation with boosters and the future possibility of needing one? >> doctor: certainly it

is entirely conceivable, maybe likely, that at some time we will need a booster. it may be differentially needed depending on the age of individuals and their underlying conditions. for example, people who have underlying conditions that make them more likely to have a severe outcome. and you're right, john, it could be confusing. when you're talking about an official recommendation from a public health organization, like the c.d.c., or a regulatory agency, like the f.d.a., it will have to be based on solid data from both laboratory and clinical studies. and in realtime, those agencies follow and do studies. we at the n.i.h. are doing a number of studies to determine do we have solid evidence for doing this. right now, what the c.d.c. and the f.d.a. said in a joint statement is that at this time we don't see the need for it.

what the pharmaceutical company, pfizer, did, they did their own study and said, we think you're going to need a booster, so we're preparing the booster. that's fine. we want companies and academic institutions and the government to continue to collect data. so it is really a firm recommendation versus opinion. >> dickerson: some people in nursing homes, vulnerable populations, got their shots many months ago. the clock is ticking. is it going to be possible to begin the possible of preparing for a booster, so if officials decide it is needed, the companies will be in place to give it at the right time, or will the window have closed essentially to give it to people? >> doctor: no -- great question, john. no. the process is going on right now. we, at the n.i.h., are doing a number of studies

looking at the feasibility of boosting, the kinds of boosts you might want to go, what kind of timetable for the boosts. those studies are going on right now. it is really a very good question. it isn't as if we're going to start from square one, if it looks like there are breakthrough infections or the laboratories indicate there is a diminution in immunity. right now we're preparing full throttle for doing boosters if we need them. >> dickerson: dr. anthony fauci, thank you for being with us. we go now to dr. ¿cooómo dr. sct gottlieb. good morning, dr. gottlieb. >> doctor: good morning. >> dickerson: let's start with this booster question. what led pfizer to request authorization for a boost? >> it was data coming out of israel that suggested that people who were vaccinated a while ago, particularly older

individuals, might be vulnerable to infection. we see declining efficacy, but it seems to be clustered among people who are older and who were vaccinated a while ago. remember in the united states, we vaccinated some of our most vulnerable citizens at the beginning of the campaign. many nursing home residents were va vaccinated last december. with respect to the boosters, what we're talking about is a third dose of the existing vaccine. and anyone who gets vaccinated right now will not need a booster. if you go out and get vaccinated right now, that vaccine will carry you through the fall and the winter. what we're talking about is people who were vaccinated a while ag ago, and what could be happening is as people's antibodies start to decline because they're further out from their vaccine, the delta variant is sab able to overwhelm the

antibodies. and that's why they're more prone to infection. the vaccines still seem very protective against severe disease. what we're seeing in israel is people becoming mildly infected. but therel there also are some people -- [audio cutting out] >> dickerson: israel has this data because they decided to study it, or they started the process of distributing the vaccines earlier, and therefore they have people in their population who are further along than in their states? >> doctor: both. i mean israel did vaccinate their elderly population early. we did, as well. but they did a very good job of tracking people who have been vaccinated. so it is not a surprise to they might be first to spot these trends. we're a little behind in the united states. the united kingdom has already made a decision they're going to provide boosters for thoseive the thosee

the age of 70. israel says they're give boosters for those with immune situations. that's what pfizer, the company i'm on the board of, is trying to do. we're doing these studies and we'll be submitting that information to f.d.a., asking for authorization should a booster be needed. it will be up to the c.d.c. to make a general recommendation. if we don't get started, we won't have them available should we need them in the fall. i think we've missed the window for providing boosters for the delta variant, which will play in the months of september and maybe into october. but you want to consider boosters for people going forward, particularly the elderly, people in nursing homes, where you want to maintain a sufficiently high level of neutralizing antibodies in their blood,

so you protect them from any infection, even a mild infection, because a vulnerable individual, some people will get in trouble with the virus. >> dickerson: let me ask you on that timing question, dr. anthony fauci seemed to suggest there wasn't a timing issue. if it is just a third shot of what is already on the shelf, why does there have to be a lot of time? why can't somebody make that decision and it is available in the doctor's office? >> doctor: well, pfizer is doing the study right now, looking at a third dose. the data looks very good. they put out some top-lying information about that. you get five times the antibodies from the first dose. the study isn't done. it has to be submitted to the f.d.a. pfizer is going to publish those results for public scrutiny. that is probably a month or two process, going through the f.d.a. process, trying to get an emergency-use authorization to use the vaccine as a third dose. and it needs to go to the

c.d.c., who makes a recommendation on who would get boosted. i would suspect if there is a recommendation on providing boosters, it will be a select population, perhaps people who are older -- it's not going to be a general recommendation fmr the entire public. because for most people, people who are younger, who have intact immune systems, they'll probably have sufficient protection from their original vaccination. we're talking about a more vulnerable population, who not only have declining protection from a vaccine over time -- we know vaccines don't work quite as well in older individuals, but they're also more vulnerable to infection. you want to prevent even a milder infection to vulnerable people. they need to issue the general recommendation. you're talking about a process that is probably at least a couple of months long, could take a little more time than that. i think starting it right now, frankly, is prudent.

>> dickerson: you mentioned anybody getting a vaccine right now didn't have to worry about a booster. you were careful to make that distinction. do you think that is a public health challenge for the administration, for public health officials, who are desperate to get people vaccinated in the first place, that question of the booster kind of complicates things for them? >> doctor: they have data that shows when you start talking about boosters, that discourages some people from getting a vaccination. i think that has weight in trying to get a certain number of the population to get vaccinated. they were pushing hard to meet the deadline, and they almost did. they did a good job getting close to the stretch goal they set out for themselves. i think they're worried if you start a conversation around boosters now, it could discourage people from going out and seeking vaccination. i think there is a way to bifurcate this message. when we're talking about boosters, we're not talking about people who go out and get vaccinated

now, who, by and large, are younger, healthier people. we're talking about people who were vaccinated last december, last january, people over the age of 65, who you a significant amount of time out from their original vaccination. do you want them going into the 2021-'22 cold front season? we vaccinated the 1.3 million residents in nursing homes, we vaccinated them last december. and we vaccinated our frontline health care workers last december. are physicians going to want to go into this fall and winter season with a vaccine that is a year old? those are the questions we need to start asking. i'm glad we started the process. tony talked about the meeting that will take place tomorrow with the companies. >> dickerson: as a last question, let me ask you about schools. the c.d.c. said, cools, if you're vacnated

don't have to wear a mask. how do you think those schools are going to sort through those who aren't vaccinated and checking on whether they wear their masks? how do you think that will play out? >> doctor: i don't think they're really going to do checking. some schools are going to implement mask mandates, others won't. eight states have announced they're not going to allow masks in schools. california announced they will. i don't think you're going to create a situation where you'll have some students wearing masks and others not. schools will be wearing masks or not, depending on what the risks are. the guidance that c.d.c. put out was also air filtertration. this is the first time the c.d.c. recommended testing in schools. >> dickerson: dr. scott gottlieb, thank you, as always. "face the nation" will be back in one minute.

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richard branson is back from space richard branson is back from space

the rocket plane is useful our mark strassmann has been following this historic development in new mexico, and joins youosphere there for you and spectators, and what comes next. >> everybody here at virgin galactica, this company that has had its shining moment, everybody has to be over the moot picture-perfect, from the moment the mother ship, the twin fuselage, left

the runway and started lifting off to the sky, it all went spectacularly. the real first spectacular moment was when the mother ship released unity 22, the spaceship, which rocketed up to about 50 miles above earth, and the now astronauts, four civilians, went ahead and experienced several minutes of weightlessness. then they came back to earth, glideed into the runway, the landing, like the take off, picture-perfect, just the way richard branson must have hoped it would. clearly for branson, this is a personal milestone and a professional one, but it is also meaningful for anyone who has a passion for space, or anyone who believes that the sky is the limit. because at this point, it is now conceivable for civilians to go up to space from earth. civilians with more money than most, perhaps, but at least it is possible. it wasn't, really, before today. and in the battle of the

space billionaires, we have elon musk, jeff bezos, and richard branson, today, at least, branson has the bragging rights. bezos launches on july 20th, in his own blue origin capsule, but, again, this is a new era in space. commercial space travel, it seems as though it is not an emerging market, but a market with moments like this that is here to stay. earl? >> mark, we appreciate you speaking to us as the music was kind of blaring behind you. can we also note how some are comparing this billionaire race to space to what people do in the suburbs, getting the newest and shiniest lawn mower. richard branson put himself on this mission, after jeff bezos announced it was supposed to launch later this summer. talk to me about the competitive nature of these billionaires behind all of this? >> well, they didn't get

to be worth what they're worth today by being passive people. threompetitive, obviously, not only in business and life, but now we each other. this is a new age, the age of space barons, and there are ar firsts that have to be established. one of them is which one of the guys is going to get up there first, and it turns out to it is richard branson. and for now, in this commercial space and space tourism, it is really for rich guys. but it is hoped that over time the fleets will expand, the number of flights will expand, and in turn the flights will come down. maybe not within striking distance of most people. virgin galactica has a waiting list of 600 people, who paid up to a quarter million dollars a e foirhace at branson hopes to give it to them starting next year. the chances are the virgin galactica waiting list will reopen now. the price will probably be even higher.

but over time, the hope is the fleets will expand, to cdo and make it wt was a really well-orchestrated presentation here. the company had live cuts of shots inside the spacecraft, showing richard branson on board. at one moment, he said this is the experience of a lifetime. he said he was able to look out of the window and see the space port there in new mexico, and he used that opportunity to thank the staff, the scientists, and all of the technical folks who were able to make this happen and pull this off what about the anxiety on the ground as something that could be deadly and dangerous was unfolded. who were the folks that have come here to celebrate, and what are you been hearing from them today? >> reporter: a number of v.i.p.s and guests are behind me, including elon

rs to watch richard branson take off today. there seems to be a friendly competitiveness between those two. jeff bezos, the founder of blue origin, he, on his instagram account, he wished richard branson well in his flight today, and that wish came true for bezos and for richard branson in particular. it will be very, very interesting to see what happens from here. bazobezos is supposed to take off in nine days. then what happens after that? what they want to do is establish a regular service that sends folks up to the sky. to some degree, elon musk has already done that, but it has been very, very expensive with elon musk. but his flights are not suborbital, they're orbital. with the other two, they're talking about space tourism, you go up anme down. that will, o course, still be a lot of money. it will be very, very interesting to see what happens in the days ahead.

clearly this is a huge moment, and a huge marketing moment, for richard branson, foyer for virgin galactica. >> and the blaring music behind you shows the success and energy of this. mark strassmann in new mexico, thank you very much. ealverymuch. we also want to hear from our own bill harwood. bill, what do you make of what we've all just witnessed? >> you know, it is a little bit of barn storming. as mark was saying, this is really generating interest in this commercial space flight program. will that work in the long-term? i think that is too early to say. tickets to fly on virgin galactica are expeedo cost about $250,000 each. they're hoping as more and more flights take place, and more people get5á+ujdt r'tel come down. will it ever get to the

point where everybody near average will be able to afford to fly in space? that is probably a long, long time away. we need to see what happens with jeff bezos and his company. >> reporter: what is the difference between virgin galactica and blue origin. and we should also message elon musk's effort to get into space. what sets these companies apart? >> well, you know, virgin galactica and blue origin have chosen very different approaches. jeff bezos and blue origin have chosen a more traditional approach, with a rocket that launches a capsule up to space, which separates and floats back under earth under a parachute. virgin galactica use a space plane, it glides its way to space and glides back to a run way landing. you have to give virgin galactica the edge there. it is about 90 minutes from launch to landing. you get to ride up to that

drop-out latitude, and the thrilling ride to space. blue o origin's is only about 10 minutes, but they offer the biggest windows, and you're going to get a great view, and it has an abort, and it can propel a crew to safety in the case of a major malfunction. there are different approaches, pluses and minus to both sides. it will be very interesting to see where costumers go. >> reporter: public reaction is something i'm interested in discussing with you now, because as we watch this billionaire race to space, and everybody pats themselves on the back for doing something successfully here should point out

here, it's not just face tourists and civilians they are aiming at. some stroants are expected -- astronauts are expected to fly on thee aircraft. there is more of a market than just civilians. whether it's enough to get the cost down to what you or i might think is a reasonable figure,

that remains to be scene. >> as i mentioned, virgin galactic experienced a crash of one of its spacecraft years ago. tell us that, lessons learned and how that laid the groundwork of where we are today. >> that is an interesting point, i probably should have mentioned earlier, we were talking about differences between these two companies and their approaches. the 2014 accident that killed one pilot and critically injured one other, was caused by human error. the co-pilot of that flight inadvertently deployed a system too soon. that has since modified that of course so that's impossible to happen today. and every flight since then they system. had a problem with that but one point here, the virg ctic ieris no computer control, two human pilots fly this spacecraft from

the point it drops off the carrier jet all the way to lashing. the blue ager, there are no pilots often board, no-on board,ing the abort system built in to handle an emergency. so it's a difference in design philosophy. you know, those who think having a human in the loop is an advantage to handle unexpected problems. others believe computers can do a job for new shepherd and blue origin. a difference i should say that may be a factor in how people decide to buy tickets. >> and bill just quickly before we check in where our mark ssman site, w wereyou most excited about watching this today? >> as swung who watches rockets

take off for almost 30 years, it's the rocket motor. they had problems in its initial development, they seem to have ironed those out. when you light a rocket motor, there is a lot of energy being expelled and something that has to make you nervous. >> bill howard our space dispert. mark strassman a very celebratory moment. what is happening there? >> what do you do, celebrate, which is is what virgin galactic is going to do right now. everyone on board is going to get their astronaut wings, a different kind of celebration, press availability, celebrate the moment. this is not just a personal milestone it's a major marketing moment for richard branson and

virgin galactic. they aim to make the most of it. >> for those watching the live feed, virgin galactic have a preproduced pack of richard branson thanking his mother for making him the adventurer he has. the cautious don't live at all. what does that tell us about what motivates branson? >> well, i'm tell you something else, originally branson's idea was to take his mother with him on this first flight. a guy like branson sees the world differently, is not afraid of going after visions hhe a swg millionaire. he has ever before.d ghn >> swashbucklers for the at one

time century. thank you very much. you can watch it tngt at cbsnews.com or on our cbs news app. there will be much more to come on this historic virgin galactic flight on your news and on the cbs weekend news. this has been a cbs news special report, i'm ariel barnett. cbs news cbs news new york. >> for news 24 hours a day of afghanistan, in the event we see that a terrorist organization is beginning to plant another foot there. >> dickerson: how much better has the u.s. gotten in 20 years in that kind of quick response and in hardening targets to terrorists? thingsve changa great deal in terms of our capabilities in 20 years, to react if something does go sideways in afghanistan. >> good question. just since the time i've been in national security,

beginning and the early years of the obama administration, i've seen our capabilities grow enormously. the accuracy of our targeting, the sophistication of our intelligence collection capabilities, have grown enormously just over the last 12 years. i have a lot of confidence in our ability to do that, and to monitor threats from beyond afghanistan. so i do take some comfort in where we are today, even though we'll no longer have a troop presence there in afghanistan. >> dickerson: president biden said -- and i'm going to switch topics now -- he reasons to remove focus on afghanistan is that he and national security have to focus on the world of today, not the world of 20 years ago. the world of today is a world of cyber-conflict. and i want to rely on your experience as secretary of homeland security, but also as general counsel to the pentagon. how do you define, in this murky new world, what an act of war is, what

conflict looks like? how should we think about this? >> good question. you have to look at it in four categories. one is basic surveillance, traditional spying. and though we cannot minimize it, there is an aspect of all is fair among thieves when you're dealing with surveillance, reconnaissance, and spying. there is theft, theft of intellectual property, and very often by the government -- the chinese government, for example, engages in theft of our intellectual property here in this country. and then there is an offensive cyber attack for purposes of degrading or destroying capability. most notably in critical infrastructure. and from a national security perspective, that is what we most worry about. and then there is ransomware, the encryption or theft of a profit

business' data for purposes of collecting a fee for returning it. it is prevalent. it is growing. they are devilishly creative in implanting it in software. this, obviously, is a big priority now for the administration. i'm quite sure they're weighing a number of options on how to deal with it. i'm sure president biden is thinking now, i'm six months into my presidency, and this is a test for me. and he has drawn a very public red line with vladimir putin and that government. and i'm sure they're weighing the options about what to do right now. we cannot afford to do nothing. >> dickerson: let me ask you about that -- they're a devil, those ear pieces. let me ask you about the red line that the president drew. he has told vladimir putin that he knows these ransomware attacks are

coming from russia, and he will essentially hold the putin government responsible for that. you've been in the national security meetings, in the situation room, and the president had a national security meeting this week on this, and he talked with president putin. give us a sense of what you think some of the options are he is considering as he manages this murky world. >> my educated speculation is that they are probably presenting to the president a diplomatic option, expelling diplomats. they're probably presenting to the president an economic option, their treasury department, sanctioning additional russian officials, and probably something in the nature of a military option, through u.s. cyber-command, n.s.a., or intelligence community. option of a cyber-response proportionate in nature to degrade the capability of those in russia to engage

in this attack. from the public rhetoric, it seems as if president biden and his administration has accepted that it is not the russian government itself, but that the russian government seems to be harboring this threat. and under principles of international law, one can act in self-defense if the host nation is unwilling or unable to deal with the threat itself. that was the international legal basis for us going into pakistan to get osama bin laden, for example, 10 years ago. >> dickerson: all right, secretary johnson, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate your help on this issue. and we'll be back in a momentch back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infec some serious, and cancer.

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it. there was strong travel on a couple of the days during the july 4th holiday. what does it look like to you? >> yeah. so we see a huge desire for people to get back out and reunite with friends and family and connect with the world. leisure demand is more than 100% recovered. it demonstrates the human desire to reconnect. business demand is city halloff60%. but we're headed in the right direction. >> dickerson: what is your timeline for getting back to what, for lack of a better word we'll call normal? >> i don't think anything will be normal on the other side of this. but we expect that business demand will really pick up in september, as mostly schools are back in. but we don't think it really recovers to full of 2023. europe, as soon as the border opens, that will come back largely in full.

probably next summer will be the biggest year in history for europe. and asia is probably another 18 to 24 months away. >> dickerson: when you say, as soon as the border is open, that's a complicated business. american citizens can travel to europe, but it o easye other way. what are your expectations about when that gets sorted out. and let me piggyback on to that that treasury secretary yellen said she is word that the delta variant may cripple the recovery. >> europe looks like the united states, both in terms of vaccinations and case rates. the delta variant was 52% in the united states last week, so it is here. i think what is going to happen with this, though, is all of the evidence says that the vaccines are affective, at least in preventing severe infection or hospitalizations or deaths

from the delta variant. we'll continue to be on this road to recovery. we'll probably have to get booster shots. that will be a normal part of life. this will be, i suspect, a lot like the common flu, where we get a booster shot every year. >> dickerson: but in terms of what you see for travel, when are the masks going to come off on the planes? when are people going to stop worrying in the way that it affects people at their fingertips in the airline travel business? when do you think that clears up? >> well, one of the great things about flying on the airplane is -- literally, if you're going to be indoors, it is the safest place to be because of the air filtration. the current government order expires on september 13th, and my guess is it will expire on september 13th, but we'll wait and see for sure. >> dickerson: let me ask you about jobs. what does the economic picture look like for employees? be in the airline industry, that relies on a

lot of contractors, some of the reports of the heavy travel have been pretty bumpy. people like to complain about travel, and they're complaining even more. what are some of the biggest obstacles just in bringing back jobs, being able to fill the jobs necessary for smooth travel? >> for people at united airlines, we don't have a problem hiring because they are careers. and we negotiate a deal with our pilots' union to keep our pilots employed, so we haven't had some of the crucial problems. even the t.s.a. security screeners, they have done a heroic job of coming back up quickly. the recovery has been so rapid, there are some strains in the system. >> dickerson: let me ask you about climate change.

we've had another week of extreme weather, and i know you've made some commitments to changing the footprint of united airlines. let me ask you another question, which is: climate is changing the way we travel, changing the way the planes fly, how do you have to think through in business the effects of climate change on the airline industry? >> first, solving climate change is the most important problem for our generation. i believe that personally. and unit united airlines are doing all kinds of things that are innovative and the only one to do it. it is impacting our business. the hurricane last week -- this is the earliest i can remember a hurricane. the number of thunderstorms because there is more heat in the atmosphere, more thunderstorms. it is making it harder and harder. what we have to do is get better at dealing with that weather because we're going to have more weather extremes. >> dickerson: that sounds easier than -- get better at bad weather -- it sounds like a lot of

people being stuck in airports waiting for the planes to fly again. >> it is much more difficult. we're looking at technology to do things like keep the ramp open. that's one of the biggest things that shuts down airports. if there is a lightning strike within five miles of the airport, it is closed for 30 minutes. to work on ways to keep the ramps open when the weather is not that bad. >> dickerson: you're the leader of an organization with tens of thousands of workers, and a lot of leaders are finding that the world is different as they come back. people have different views about the nature of work in their lives. how do you see that as a leader, in terms of what people are feeling and what work is going to be like after the pandemic? >> well, you know, at united airlines in particular, going through the pandemic, i think strengthened our culture and the sense of the role that we play globally. earlier in the crisis, only people on our airplanes were medical professionals coming into

new york, carrying equipment, ventilators and stuff back from asia. so i think it sort of strengthened our core, and we realize what we do is more than just flying airplanes. in a crisis, it is even more significant and important. >> dickerson: scott kirby, c.e.o. of united airlines, thank you so much for being with us. and we'll be back in a moment.

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it's about building something for our family that will endure. check out what space looks like. mark strassmann has his feet on the ground in new mexico with more on the historic flight. >> good morning, john. after a delay of close to two hours from a distance, it all has seemed to go perfectly, going just the way richard branson might have imagined in this space dreams. eve, the mother ship, will release unity 22, which will rocket 50 miles above earth. richard branson and his two pilots will experience several minutes.

weightlessness. virgin galactic is in business to expand the customer exp unity 2 will flip upside down so everyone can get a good look down on earth. by next year, branson hopes to provide regular flights to space. the first group has pre-paid a quarter million jobs for their chance. for branson, this has been a bucket-list wish for decades, but it is also a milestone in commercial space. space tourism, it is an emerging battle. elon musk, jeff bezos, and the star passenger of this morning's space drama. >> astronaut 001, richard branson. >> reporter: starting next year, virgin galactic wants to sell costumers

the ultimate joy ride. >> they will be able to look back on our earth. >> reporter: with spacex and blue origin, rockets start the experience virtual cle virtuall. not virgin galactic. they have a twin fuselage plane with two pilots. in the middle, the space plane, with two more pilots. at about 45,000 feet, he releases unity. the space plane rockets straight up. >> fire! >> reporter: more than 50 miles above earth. passengers can experience several minutes of weightlessness. >> welcome to the club, astronauts. >> reporter: unity glides back to earth. total trip time, about 90 minutes. since 2004, virgin galactic has pushed through setbacks, including a fatal test flight seven years ago. >> we've had our tears, we've had our joys.

but, i'll tell you what, the joys have been fantastic. >> reporter: virgin galactic's competitors know that the future of space also rode on this morning's flight. a catastrophe would affect them all. >> it is really not a race. i wish every single one of them the best. >> we just had a spectacular moment of the livestream, where the mother ship released the spaceship. big applause from the crowds. four passengers, two crew members, now on their way to the edge of space. in the battle for billionaire space bragging rights, branson looks as though he is going to beat jeff bezos into space by nine days. elon musk is here watching. bazos, on his instagram account, wished branson luck on multiple levels,

john. i have to think that richard branson is floating on air. >> dickerson: thank you so much for doing double duty for us today. and we'll be back in a moment. [speaking in sign language] [speaking in sign language]

>> dickerson: that's it for us today. thanks for watching. until next week, for "face the nation," i'm john dickerson. ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

laila: today on all in, it's one of the most beautiful spots on earth, and the world's greatest free-runners have come to defy gravity and showcase their incredible courage. then we take a dangerous trip into the jungle with a man on a mission to save the mountain gorillas, and we'll fly with one of the bravest search and rescue teams ever to work the swiss alps. ♪ music ♪