the spacecraft will be carried by a larger mother plane to an altitude of about 50,000 feet above sea level. that's higher than you typically fly in a commercial aircraft. from there unity will be released. its rocket plane motor will ignite, carrying the craft to about 50 miles above the earth. at that point the pilot and crew will be able to exit their seats and enjoy sweeping views of earth while experiencing about four minutes of apparent weightlessness, lack of gravity. the special coverage starts a little later in the hour. first, to what's happening here on earth. the fbi and department of homeland security officials are arriving in haiti to assist with the investigation into the assassination of the country's president. just last week a group of assailants stormed the president's home, shooting and killing him and wounding his wife. while the assassination has sent the country into a state of shock and literal state of siege, as of now the u.s. does not have plans to send any

military assistance, despite requests from the haitian government. meanwhile, in florida the miami-dade courthouse is now closed due to safety concerns that were revealed during a building inspection that was prompted by the tragic surfside condo collapse. the engineering firm that examined the 28-story court building says that during the review it found structural distress in support beams and joists, including steel columns that are in, quote, poor condition, and concrete columns that have numerous cracks in them. the courthouse will begin to undergo repairs immediately. employees will return to working from home while that happens. from the miami-dade courthouse to the nation's highways and bridges, it is apparent that infrastructure in this country is in need of major repair and it does appear that congress is taking notice of these glaring warning signs and is poised to take action. senate majority leader chuck schumer says his chamber will work into its august recess to pass both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget

resolution that would allow democrats to enact a range of party priorities without republican support. schumer may be right to not wait around, by the way, for republicans to get onboard. that's because the twice impeached former president is telling gop lawmakers to stop the infrastructure push and stop negotiating with democrats over a bipartisan infrastructure deal. joining me now from capitol hill is nbc news reporter amanda golden. good morning to you. what is the latest on this? >> reporter: now we're actually going to see this come to the time crunch and get into the nitty gritty of writing that legislation. and with schumer now saying he wants to bring this forward in the july period it is putting some pressure on the process. democrats are still trying to do this two-track approach. they've got the bipartisan infrastructure package that hones in on the physical elements of infrastructure across the country. they're also still trying to push forward the democrats only reconciliation package that

hones in on more of the human elements of infrastructure. that includes things like elder care, child care, as well as climate change. schumer did write to his colleagues in a letter speaking of wanting to work on this throughout july and even threatening to cut off some of the august recess. we've heard that threat from other majority leaders before. but he did say some key things. i want to read you part of the letter to his colleagues. he sailed, quote, my intention for this work period is for the senate to consider both the bipartisan infrastructure legislation and a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, which is the first step for passing legislation through the reconciliation process. please be advised that time is of the essence. we have a lot of work to do. senators should be prepared for the possibility of working long nights, weekends, and remaining in washington into the previously-scheduled august state work period. now the senate is scheduled to be out for about five weeks starting august 9th. there is a lot to be done before then obviously. as of now there are 11 republican senators seemingly onboard for the bipartisan

framework but that text still needs to be written. we also don't yet have a stamp of approval or actual endorsement for this from minority leader mitch mcconnell. a lot is still in play. we also need to make sure all democratic senators would be yop be board coup -- onboard coupled with the republican senators to move this through. on the house side house democrats are saying led by speaker pelosi they don't want to move one without the other. she said earlier this week to reporters that unless they see actual substantive movement around the reconciliation democrats only project they are not going to see the same level of support for the bipartisan package as well. once it comes through the senate to the house, and all eyes now do turn to the senate when senators return here tomorrow. it is going to be a lot of negotiating in the next few weeks, ali. >> lots to watch. thank you for your reporting this morning. let me bring in democratic congresswoman from illinois, currently sits on the house intelligence and oversight

committee. good to see you. thank you very much for joining us this morning. >> good morning, ali. >> i don't know whether it matters or not, but donald trump has told republicans and i don't know why, don't continue on with negotiations. don't allow this bipartisan infrastructure bill to get by. is that of any consequence as far as you understand? >> it has some consequence i would imagine. i think that there are going to be republicans who have to decide whether they do what their constituents want, which is a bipartisan infrastructure deal or what donald trump wants. i hope they choose the former and side with their constituents in this instance. >> polling consistently shows the instruction effort is something that resonates with americans because we see things crumbling including bridges and roads and people understand what infrastructure is and part of it is because this administration

has tried to sell this as a version of economic stimulus. a jobs plan as much as a physical building plan. >> you rightly alluded to in the leadup that people are starting to discover crumbling buildings such as what we see in miami-dade county crumbling roads and bridges. they want to fix it now. there as lot of momentum for it. this is the right time. i am very hopeful. >> you have studied and had a lot to do with everything that led up to the january 6th events. i want to understand your thoughts. do you think kevin mccarthy will participate and fill the five spots on the committee that he has the power to recommend members of congress to or is he going to stick obstructionists in there?

>> i heard within the last 24 hours that he is going to appoint members to the committee. if they are people like liz cheney and others who want to get at the truth of january 6th that is a good thing. on the other hand if he is going to choose people who will merely channel donald trump in the halls of congress, that is not so productive. as you know, speaker pelosi will have a voice on that. i expect her to fully exercise her voice to make sure we get a functional committee. >> i was talking to your colleague a little earlier. i'm getting a little concerned about the rhythm around this conversation that conspiracy theorists are having in this country about donald trump coming back into office in august. there is absolutely zero mechanism by which that could take place. but there was zero mechanism by which donald trump was going to overturn the election of 2020, and yet his partsans continue to try to do that and they continue to try these silly audits and it continues to lead to legislation in state houses. what is your level of concern

about the degree to which the republican party is beholden to conspiracy theorists? >> i'm concerned, ali. you know, as you said, the my pillow guy has kind of talked about this conspiracy theory of donald trump coming back in august. of course, mr. lindell, the my pillow guy, is not our truth guy. you're even seeing dissension within the ranks of the kooks. marjorie taylor greene doesn't even believe in this conspiracy theory. all that said, i think dhs has to take all of these concerns seriously. they have to look for credible threats. i'd like to see more resources devoted to the capitol police. we passed a bill to that effect in the house. it is still sitting in the senate. i hope that actually becomes a part of the bipartisan infrastructure deal or reconciliation package. we have to continue to figure out how to bolster capitol

defenses and help the u.s. capitol police. >> congressman, good to see you as always. thank you for joining us this morning, a member of the committee on oversight and reform and the house permanent select committee on intelligence. up next we're going to new mexico where the countdown to launch for virgin galactic's spaceship is under way. this is the runway. we'll tell you why it is delayed and how it is going to unfold when the spacecraft takes off. ♪ ♪ when technology is easier to use... ♪ barriers don't stand a chance. ♪ that's why we'll stop at nothing to deliver our technology as-a-service. ♪ that delicious scramble was microwaved? get outta here.

everybody's a skeptic. wright brothers? more like, yeah right, brothers! get outta here! it's not crazy. it's a scramble. just crack an egg. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete! with 30 grams of protein. i'm really nervous. ensure complete! i don't know what i should wear. just wear something not too crazy, remember it's a business dinner not a costume party. on a spotty network this is what she heard... just wear something crazy, remember it's a costume party. a costume party!? yes! anybody want to split a turkey leg?

>> i want to go out to spaceport america with tom costello standing by monitoring this launch of "vss unity" for us. you made a point a little while ago when talking to me that branson is going to go up there first. bezos is planning to go up.

elon musk is possibly one of the biggest names in this. they are competitors but they actually all need each other to succeed. to that point, you have proof of that this morning. >> reporter: this photo is richard branson tweeting out a short time ago. it would appear that elon musk stayed at the same nearby ranch with branson overnight. branson tweeted out the following. big day ahead. great to start the morning with a friend. feeling good. feeling excited. feeling ready. with elon musk and richard branson there tweeted out this morning. there is not a lot in the way of accommodations here in the new mexico desert 30 miles from truth or consequences. one of the challenges going forward here is if they bring in hundreds of passengers, where do they stay? there are ngoho tell rooms in

the space -- there are no hotel rooms in the spaceport. they were talking about they have to build some sort of luxurious accommodations for people with that kind of money who fly in on their own personal jets to start off with anyway rather than a one star motel. good enough for the media. maybe not elon musk. the bottom line is you are absolutely right. elon musk was the first yesterday to tweet out good luck to branson, wishing you great success. and then a few hours later jeff bezos tweeted out a similar message. i got to say it came off as if he were trying to clean up the public relations mess after the bezos team tweeted out the day before suggesting that branson and his passengers weren't really going to space, only blue origin, only the bezos folks would really go to space. that kind of came off and touched a lot of people as being inappropriate and sour. so bezos yesterday tweeted out

his own sentiments wishing good luck to branson. by the way, things are kicking up here. we got a band playing. it is going to get loud and is part of the festivities here. >> i cannot think of a better person to share this time with than you and your enthusiasm for the benefits the space race actually brings to humanity other than just the event itself. tom, we'll stay close to you. tom costello is at spaceport america in new mexico. back on earth, things are a little unsettled. the big lie keeps getting bigger and the dedication of trump and his allies to keep spreading the big lie is building up to one thing, possibly another january 6th in the making. i'll explain when "velshi" returns. e no. ♪ i never needed anyone. ♪ front desk. yes, hello... i'm so... please hold. ♪ those days are done. ♪ i got you. ♪ all by yourself. ♪

go with us and find millions of flexible options. all in our app. expedia. it matters who you travel with. voiceover: riders. wanderers on the road of life. the journey is why they ride. when the road is all you need, there is no destination. uh, i-i'm actually just going to get an iced coffee. well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually -- no, i-i usually have a destination. yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. nope, just the coffee shop. announcer: no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. voiceover: 'cause she's a biker... please don't follow me in. ♪♪ i thought i was managing 'causemy moderateker... to severe crohn's disease. then i realized something was missing... ...me. my symptoms were keeping me from being there for her. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for people with crohn's disease. the majority of people on humira

saw significant symptom relief in as little as 4 weeks. and many achieved remission that can last. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. ♪♪ darrell's family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. isn't that the dog's towel?

hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling.

guys, as we get older, we all lose testosterone. force factor's test x180 works to boost it back. build muscle, increase energy, fuel desire, and improve performance. rush to walmart for test x180, the #1 fastest-growing testosterone brand in america. let me recap a little bit of what's happened in the next week or so. qanon are planning to run for

school board to spread the gospel of "q" according to my colleague who dwells in the murky underworld of the internet. a guy that sells allegedly soft pillows on tv claims donald trump will be reinstated to the white house in august. how or why is still not clear. trump himself is still spreading the big lie which triggered the january 6th insurrection. this big lie just keeps on gelting bigger and bigger and it is only a matter of time before another january 6th type incident happens. joining me to discuss is my friend tiffany cross and my guest is also an msnbc daily columnist. on one hand i'm so glad it's over and behind us and i worry every day about what it does to our brains to talk about conspiracy theorist nuts who are prepared to overthrow the government on the basis of nothing.

i'm worried if we don't focus on it, it is actually not going away and not getting less intense and less focused. >> look, that is the dilemma all of us as hosts have. with your show and my show, how much attention do we give this? but i am moved to remind us of what happened in 2015 and 2016 as it led up to this election and we laughed at this, you know, uprising. we dismissed it. people did not take it seriously or literally. however, there were so many of us on the other side saying, no. this is white supremacy run amok. this is what we're seeing centuries of institutional racism come to bear. and now we're seeing it cannibalized and are caught up in it. let me tell you what is happening at ccap. they are circulating a plan to have trump reinstated. as laughable as it may be we are reminded as we're shown on the screen images of what happened january 6th. let us not forget this was a fatal day.

five lives were lost. they're trying to create ashley babitt into a deity and martyr when we know better. what is scary about the lies is not that trump is telling them but the millions of people who believe him. then there are the people who try to sanitize themselves and they say, well, i don't like trump but i do like his policies. well, unfortunately, the two are the same. one begets another. so i'm so happy we're having this honest conversation. a lot of us have learned our lesson from five years ago. this is very dangerous to dismiss this and treat it as a joke because nobody is laughing. >> right. in an article you wrote the other day, on july 6th, you actually quote a supporter who was at a rally in ohio on june 26th who said, if trump is not reinstated by august, we're going to be in a civil war because the militia will be taking over. so there are people who actually believe this. >> they absolutely do. there was a militia man standing right near that gentleman right there. look, you know what is alarming for me is there was a poll in

january after the attack. 71% of republicans said the attack was unjustified. lower than i'd like but 71%. recent same polling service only 57% of republicans think the attack on january 6th was unjustified. they're no longer saying it is antifa. they are saying it was us. they're saying almost 50% that it was justified. ali, you pointed exactly, donald trump radicalized people like an al qaeda recruiter for two months, invited them to washington on january 6th to stop the steal. they did what he wanted and now he is out repeating the exact same lie that brought them to the door step of violence which he was so happy they went through to stop the steal. we can't ignore him. ali, i wish we could ignore donald trump. i don't want to speak of the man ever again. he is at cpac today and he will i assure you repeat the laws and now his new thing is defend the terrorists. i really wish we'd use the framing of fbi director christopher wray who called january 6th an act of domestic

terrorism. let's use that prism meaning all who attacked the capitol are terrorists. if you're defending the attack you are defending terrorists. donald trump incited a terrorist attack. in what system of justice do 500 people supporting donald trump attack our capitol because he wanted them to stop the steal. they are in prison. he is out playing golf and giving speeches saying the same lies that radicalized people for january 6th. the fwraf injustice before us is dangerous. we can't look away. we need democratic leaders to call it out much more than they are. >> so this business you were talking about, about deifying ashley babitt, we've all seen that piece of video that we repeat where they are smashing that last line of defense before those protesters and in some cases armed would have reached the members of congress. you saw the force with which they were using that. they had -- if they had gotten through, then you see the police officer with the gun aimed i'm

sure praying he never had to use it. now you have donald trump actually directing anger at that police officer saying if this was something else that person would be hanged. then people in the crowd saying, hang him. so this is going further than just this maybe this wasn't a fair election. this is as dean writes mussolini style. >> absolutely. especially we have to remember lives were lost. how ridiculous was it that we saw this blue lives matter crowd attacking police officers? how ridiculous is it that, you know, the right, conservative right wants to talk about how defund the police is so radical. they're defunding the police right now on capitol hill and as our friend joy reid says they won't even defend the police in this instance. these are very dangerous times. honestly, ali, it is hard for me to dismiss it because we're seeing this take place not only in violence but in violent policy. as we narrow the path to the ballot box, it is not just about voting rights. but this is how you take a person's liberty.

you limit their participation in democracy and then you continuously impose draconian policies that will have an adverse impact on all of americans but most certainly a targeted impact on people of color, the rising majority of this country. that, my friend, as you know, is what this is about. the changing demographic and a dinosaur who refuses to become extinct and fear of losing power. as long as people of color expand territory, as long as we're fighting for equality and fighting to be on equal footing, i fear that we won't -- we might see donald trump leave and disappear but we will not see an end to trumpism. >> dean, you've seen -- we know we're trying to fight this voter suppression in the state houses. we see these fraud-its showing up. how do you fight this part of it? you mentioned the fbi director calls this domestic terrorism. how does this get fought? it seems like every time the pillow fellow and trump talk about this they still get people

to show up and listen to them. >> they believe in the message, ali. the same way republicans weren't silent during donald trump's time because they feared him, they were silent because they agreed with him. now we have republican members of congress literally defending the january 6th terrorist attack. donald trump radicalized people like an al qaeda recruiter. donald trump sent them there to attack the capitol to stop the steal as he put it or stop the certification of the votes as we put it. we need democrats in one voice the same way the right talks about critical race theory, talk about saving our democracy. save our democracy, meaning reforming the filibuster. meaning perhaps not funding red states with infrastructure if they're going to make it harder to vote. i know it sounds unlike democrats but we got to play hardball here. i think democrats calling in one voice for donald trump to be criminal prosecuted, it is not partisan to call for a terrorist to be brought to justice or for the 500 who attacked our capitol to be brought to justice. it is certainly not partisan to call for the person who

radicalized and incited them to be brought to justice. >> thanks to both of you. dean of course the host of sirius xm's show and tiffany the host of "the cross connection." thanks to both of you. we are now about an hour away if all goes as planned from the virgin galactic launch of the unity, preparing for an historic launch decades in the making, the evolution of the new space race when "velshi" returns. and one we explore. one that's been paved and one that's forever wild. but freedom means you don't have to choose just one adventure. you get both. introducing the wildly civilized all-new 3-row jeep grand cherokee l

this may look like a regular movie night. but if you're a kid intrwith diabetes, it's more.zed it's the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. ♪♪ most bladder leak pads were similar.

until always discreet invented a pad that protects differently. with two rapiddry layers. for strong protection, that's always discreet. question your protection. try always discreet. gillette proglide. five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke. so you're ready for the day with a fresh face for a fresh start. for a limited time get a 5th cartridge free. in less than an hour we'll witness history together as the virgin galactic will launch a passenger spacecraft from the mohave desert to the edge of space, under 50 miles above the earth's surface. branson will be one of six people including two pilots aboard the virgin spaceship unity, the "vss unity" and the flight has been years, decades really in the making.

>> words of the statute. governor abbott's legal team just filed a brief in the supreme court making it clear. the state pays 100%. if they wait the state pays less. >> that is not actually john f. kennedy. we'll bring you the quote in a moment. in 1961, john f. kennedy made landing americans on the moon within ten years a national goal for the united states. on july 20th, 1969, america achieved that goal. >> one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> more than half a billion americans witnessed nasa astronauts neil arm strong and buzz armstrong become the first humans to step foot on moon. the pair planted an american flag at the landing site. then the apollo missions came. nasa was only using rockets to propel astronauts into space, costly rockets that could only be used once. by 1972 the u.s. had begun to

consider using space shuttles instead which had the power to launch like a rocket but land like an airplane. they were reusable and much less expensive. in april of 1981, nasa's very first space shuttle columbia launched from kennedy space center. >> america's first space shuttle. and the shuttle has cleared the tower. >> columbia began the first of many orbital flights shuttling humans and equipment into space and to the international space station. with the concept proven as safe and viable, the commercialization of space, the idea that nonastronauts might make it to the stars became the new goal. engineer and entrepreneur peter diamondes is one who believed space travel should be brought to the public. to spur innovation he established the unsorry xprize in 1994 a competition that offered a $10 million prize to

the first nongovernmental organization to launch a reusable crude craft into sub orbital space twice within two weeks. many tried and failed. in 2004, this ship, the tier 1 project, made those two trips on a craft called "space ship 1." one of the sponsors was richard branson with a decades long interest in space. that same year he founded virgin galactic and pledged to bring ordinary people to space. at the time for as little as $200,000 per seat. branson believed virgin galactic could spur a generation of future astronauts. the following year he joined forces with aircraft designer burt rutan with whom he had worked on "space ship 1" and together they created a new model called "space ship 2" designed to carry six passengers and two pilots. one of the spacecraft in the fleet of space ship 2s the "vss unity" will launch within the hour. in the last 15 years,

commercialized space travel has taken off. we've seen a multitude of test flights from virgin, from elon musk's spacex, and jeff bezos' blue origin. but as the private sector waxed, nasa and government funded space travel has waned. nasa officially hung up its space shuttle program almost ten years ago to the day. >> two, one, zero, and the final lift-off of atlantis on the shoulders of the space shuttle. america will continue the dream. >> atlantis launched finally on july 8, 2011, and the agency hasn't conducted one since. we'll have more on nasa later in our coverage. while today is a day to celebrate success, it always comes on the back of some failures and some crushing tragedy. on january 28th, 1986, the nasa space shuttle challenger exploded just over a minute after take-off.

>> lift-off of the 25th space shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower. >> all the communications between the shuttle and mission control indicated everything was going fine. there was a sense of relief that the much delayed flight was finally under way. >> engines at 65%. three engines running normally. three good fuel cells, three good apus. engines throttling up. >> challenger go with throttle up. >> it happened just over one minute into flight. >> velocity 2900 feet per second. altitude 9 nautical miles. >> all seven people aboard challenger died that day including a teacher from new hampshire who would have been the first civilian in space. on february 1st, 2003 the space shuttle columbia broke up as it returned to earth, also killing all seven people on board. nasa suspended space shuttle flights for two years as it investigated the tragedy.

then on october 31st, 2014, virgin galactic's "vss enterprise" the first iteration of "space ship 2" crashed during a test flight killing one pilot and badly injuring the other. those space ian ears will not be forgotten. their sacrifice is in large part what brings us to this point in time. as we await the first fully crewed launch of the civilian space kraft there is a lot more at stake than the shooting of a billionaire and his crew to the edge of space. today's mission to reinvigorate americans' love for space travel and our sense of wonder about the possibilities beyond our blue skies. as we watch history together, we will do so with the guidance of many friends and space pioneers. nasa astronaut scott kelly and leyland melvin, the first woman of color to reach space, plus the one and only theoretical physicist. i'll be joined by one of the people who started this all. it's all coming up when "velshi" the new space race continues.

one! two! three! four! five! 72,807! 72,808... dollars. yep... everything hurts. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ ♪ when technology is easier to use... ♪ barriers don't stand a chance. ♪ that's why we'll stop at nothing to deliver our technology as-a-service. ♪ to deliver our technology as-a-service.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ i've never slept like this before. we gave new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep to people who were tired of being tired. what is even in this? clinically-studied plant based ingredients passion flower, valerian root, and hops. new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep. charlie's my little sidekick when it comes to projects around the house. but, she disappears on me. i can't see everything she gets into, that's why i trust tide hygienic clean. it gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide.

age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond.

all right. we have a full slate of guests to help break down everything we are about to see. joining me now, the founder and ceo of a new tech platform to advance women. she is also a "new york times" best selling author of "how to make a spaceship." the book's forward was written by richard branson. we have a professor of theoretical physics the author of the recent "new york times" best seller "the god equation, the quest for a theory of everything." thanks to both of you for being here this morning. doctor, let me start with you about why this is beneficial other than richard branson getting into space why should the rest of my viewers be excited by what we are about to see? >> this is more than the battle of the billionaires or the race to see who has the biggest ego. we are now entering the second golden era of space exploration.

the first was with the apollo space program but it cost too much. the apollo space program consumed 5% of the u.s. federal budget. that was unsustainable. and so the moon program basically crashed and burned. but now we have the new influx of energy. all of a sudden silicon valley billionaires are opening up their checkbooks. rockets are reusable. costs are dropping. we're entering the second golden era of space exploration. and as elon musk pointed out, just remember the dinosaurs did not have a space program. that is why they're not here today to watch this historic feat. we do have a space program and it means that one day we may need it as a back-up plan for survival on this planet.

>> talk to me about the birth of private space flight. there are some who argue if we had funded nasa on an ongoing basis maybe this wouldn't be necessary. we have elon musk, richard branson, jeff bezos. they're all a little bit different. what is branson's motivation? he was one of the earliest in it. >> it really does go back to these incredible dreams that they had, really launched or sparked by the space race and seeing apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969. for richard branson i think he was 18 or 19 years old. peter, who you are having on later, the main character so to speak of my book, was 8 years old. they watched this incredible event of man first setting foot on another planet and were captivated and wanted to get to space. and realized at some point that they weren't going to get there through governmental channels and had to create this private

path to space. from my perspective whether or not you are a space expert or geek, i say that with respect, this is a story about big dreams and incredible risk taking, innovations, and failing, and moving forward regardless. so it is a story we can all be captivated by and really inspired by. taking away from the billionaires, even though their dreams really, you know, when you look at richard branson getting onboard today, elon musk getting onboard unity 2022, a dream realized. it begins with these kind of childhood dreams or events that imprinted their minds and sent them on this great mission. >> we're going to continue to show you photos of what is going on, video, at space port america. right now you're seeing a lot of activity with crews getting ready to get on the spacecraft, "unity 22" and

you'll hear various references to it. there is a mother ship which will take this aircraft up to 50,000 feet in the sky and then it'll launch off of that. it will be a series of launches. you see a convoy headed toward space port america. this is in new mexico about 20 miles from truth or consequences, new mexico. doctor, let's talk about what this gets us in terms of advances for humanity. what are the knock-off effects of being in space and continuing a space program other than the fact that it'll motivate young people to say, hey. i want to be an astronaut and they may end up as scientists like you? >> well, when you look at the history of transportation, the history of the railroads, the airplanes, their evolution went in three stages. first the airports and airplanes were used to transport goods, military hardware. then eventually travel became so

safe that the elites began to pay premium prices to travel on airplanes and steam boats and trains and then in phase 3 mom and dad can now take an airplane trip to europe in a flash. so we see that space travel is no different. we're also going through these three phases. what is driving it is the fact that costs are decreasing. it costs $10,000 to put a pound of anything into orbit around the planet earth. that is your weight in gold. think of your body made out of solid gold. that's what it costs to put you in orbit around the planet earth. but now rockets are reusable. booster rockets can be used again and again, reducing the cost of space travel. in fact, it's been estimated that the cost of space travel could go down by a factor of two, perhaps even five, opening up the heavens for you and me

and of course scientific investigation as well. we are literally opening up the heavens. >> amazing. we're taking a look at the spacecraft right now. that is the combined spacecraft. that is the vss unity. and the mother ship that is going to take it up. the mother ship eve. you also saw a convoy of land rovers that could have the crew in it, people headed toward the spacecraft. that's what we're looking at right now. probably within an hour of the launch right now. it'll be a long process. we'll watch that launch and then we will watch the two aircraft separate. then they'll go into orbit and then you will see a landing. not into orbit. i'm sorry. into waitlessness. that will be just for a few moments. this will not be a long flight. this is, julian, what would you call it, more than a proof of concept. we've had several test flights already. but this is what -- what in your book as you're writing history, is this moment?

>> this moment is true proof of concept. watching this, i think of the small team of 30 people in the mohave desert building this space ship out of basically carbon fiber and epoxy. and this brave crew, you know, the test pilots who are white knuckling it to the start of space. they went to the line 62 miles up and white knuckling it back and the whole ingenious feather component of the spaceship that is being used today. expanded, adapted, advanced but right there. so this is proof of concept. this is, you know, taking it from these -- the scrappy team in the mohave desert who were trying to do what only the world's three largest governments had done at that time, which was send man and machine to space and return them safely. so it's really an emotional

moment. and everything is going to go great. it is also a validation to see richard branson who had dreamed of this for all of his life taking this flight today. it's really exciting and a great validation of the best of the human spirit in terms of bravery and technological innovation. it is >> i want to just pop in to tom costello. he might be in front much a camera right now to tell us what's going on. we are seeing a great deal of activity at space port america at the galactic parliament of it. what's happening with you, tom? what's going on? >> reporter: so, we believe that -- we know that the crew has now left space port america behind me. they got into the range rovers and headed out there onto the tarmac. so, heading out towards the space ship "unity." and as you know, that space ship "unity" is tucked under the

space ship richard branson's own mother "eve." there is that massive wing between the fuselages. that is where the "unity" space ship sits locked underneath the wing. as you said, they climb to 50,000 feet, release and fire the rocket. it's going to take a bit to get those guys strapped in, reich ardern branson, two pilots and the three other passengers. all of them are virgin employees, virgin galactic employees. this is, as you mention, a dream of his for so long. and i had an exclusive interview with branson just this last week, and he was just almost emotional, talking about how important this is. not just because he's been dreaming since he was a teenager of doing this, but because he believes in his heart that it is important for humanity to have a view of earth, that we should all experience, but only 500 astronauts experienced, looking down at the earth and recognizing it is a place where we all, we all share this one

planet without borders, without boundaries, without walls. and the hope is that we'll all come away with an appreciation for the need to really hold onto this planet. it's all we got, and try to do all we can to protect it, especially with climate change and everything else. so a lot of very lofty concepts and thoughts are a part of what branson is doing here. >> yeah, i want to bring that up. when you look at richard branson's wealth, one of his biggest causes is climate, and climate change. and there are a lot of people who believe that these two things go hand in hand. there are people who say, look, let's deal with our problems here on earth before we think about space. there is some argument, doctor, you need to understand to solve these problems on earth. >> that's right, we should not pit one against the other. we should do both. we should, on one hand, save the planet because the planet is warming up. we see that because of the space program.

our satellites clearly show the trajectory of temperature on the planet earth. but on the other hand, we have to explore outer space, we have to open new boundaries because space in some sense is our future. and so we should not pit them against each other, that we should not say why bother to go into outer space when we have so many problems on the planet earth. just remember, for example, that the apollo space program forced the miniaturization of the microchip and the computer. so the computer revolution of today that benefits the world economy, benefits your life and our life, in part, was driven by the space program which forced silicon valley to miniaturize everything to fit inside a space capsule. so we should not pit one against the other. they are both part of our destiny. >> julian, one of the issues here, one of the reasons we have a private space program is because there were some who recognized that there was a diminishing of the amount of

money we were going to fund, you know, to nasa and governmental programs, the amount of interest that there was in this whole idea. so this sort of bridged that gap. are we looking at a future in which nasa does other things, or are we looking at a future of public/private partnerships where private entrepreneurs do some of this and they participate with the government? oh, i think i might have lost julian. let me go back to tom costello who is at the launch site at space port america. same question to you, tom, because you cover both of these things. what does today's launch mean for people who think nasa should be going up into space? >> reporter: well, listen, even the people who run nasa and have run nasa many years, believe that we have got to embrace the commercialization of space. in other words, nasa's mission should be about going long and

deep. think return to the moon. think about mars. the low earth orbit stuff nasa has been doing for the better part of 40 years now, it is time to give that over to the private sector. and that's why they've been embracing spacex which has been servicing the space station. blue origin has been running missions to the space station. it's all about turning some of that over to the private sector because it's not been perfected, but nasa has been the ones that have gone out there, done the science, and really figured out how to do this right. hand that over to the private sector, let nasa, with deep pockets, focus on doing the deep space science stuff. so they are all on board on this. in no way is nasa reluctant to embrace this. in fact, nasa tweeted out today a congratulations to branson saying, making the point that branson is building on nasa technology over the decades. and that's absolutely true. we mentioned it earlier, but it's worth repeating, elon musk

is here on-site. also former astronaut are here on-site. so this is really something that everybody's gotten excited about. listen, three minutes of weightless, not that big of a deal, right? what's a big deal is making this open to everybody. that's why they're excited. the idea that you and i and anybody else and hopefully the price will come down from a quarter million dollars, but the idea now that this becomes something that's accessible for everybody. >> julian, let's talk about the excitement level on this thing. does this give birth to the stuff that you were talking about when branson was 18 years old and the mission to the moon took place, or peter was 8 years old and that happened? does that bridge that gap? because there have been a lot of people missing shows shuttle launches, missing nasa action. we still knees astronauts, we still need physicists, people who are excited by this and take these things into the future. >> oh, it absolutely does. i mean, i think this is

captivating people. and spacex, you know, has been captivating people. just as, you know, elon musk was inspired by peter diamande and the x prize, just as richard branson was inspired by the apollo 11 landing, even going back decades earlier, peter deamandes was inspired by charles linde burg flying from new york to paris. there will be a continuation of inspiration that happens from this day forward. we see it happening and it's thrilling. >> yeah, it is. and it's going to be, it's going to be some must-watch tv over the course of the next hour or so. doctor, theoretical physicist and futurist, julian guthrie, founder of the alfie institute and author of an important book on this story, how to make a space ship, a band of renegades, an epic race and birth of private space flight, the forward written by richard

branson. thanks to both of you for helping set this up. stay where you are. we are getting closer to the big launch. we have a slate of guests to talk all things space and innovation, including some big-time astronauts. scott kelly is joining me, the first woman of color in space is joining me. astronaut leland melvin is join meg. it's going to be a big show. stick around. our continuing coverage of the new space race begins right now. it is sunday, july the 11th. i'm ali velshi. i'm excited to bring you velshi the space race. this is space port in new mexico where the virgin galactic, the uss unity craft that you are looking at will glide into space. this will be the first commercial aircraft to venture into earth's outer orbit.

the launch was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. eastern. it was delayed about 90 minutes because of some weather overnight in new mexico. virgin's billionaire founder richard branson will be on board the spacecraft along with the crew. branson tweeted this new video this morning, apparently biking to galactic space port america. he tweeted, quote, it's a beautiful day to go into space. the spacecraft is set to soar 55 miles above the new mexico desert to the very edge of space. let's take a quick look at the flight path. the mission is expected to take about 90 minutes in total. branson and the crew will take in sweeping views of earth and will experience weightlessness for approximately four minutes. two pilots and three mission specialists will join branson. this flight coming to fruition after almost 20 years of work by branson, and he says this trip is the culmination of a lifelong dream.

it was back in 2004 that branson entered the burgeoning field of space entrepreneurship which has been driven largely by the wealthy. branson has charted a very different trajectory of that from fellow space fellows jeff base owe and elon musk. he delivered a satellite pay load into orbit last month. joining us from galactic space port in new mexico is correspondent tom costello. tom, last thing we heard this thing is still a go for sometime this hour. what are you hearing and seeing on the ground? >> reporter: just checked a mina go. still on for 8:30 mountain time, 10:30 eastern time, 7:30 pacific. can i just set the scene here for you? this is quintessential richard branson. this is quintessential virgin. we have classic rock playing,