chris boshuizen works for planet labs and glen de vries. astroph astrophysicists know each other. why you know the other members of the crew? >> the great thing about the space community these days is that people do know each other. there's a whole generation that grew up with chris and audrey who networked early in their careers and were inspired by the earlier generations of astronauts like chris and bernard, and so they had this vision of really transforming space travel, making this new era where satellites are cheaper, launches are cheaper and ordinary people might be able to go to space. so i think that everyone is -- feels part of a family in that respect. so they've been raring to go all their lives. now they're managing to do this, we feel like we're a bit along with them. the last-minute holds, they're frustrating. they go back to the beginning of the space age where alan schepp herd was saying to mission control, let's light this candle. i think that's what they're feeling right now, let's light this candle and get on our ride that we've been preparing all our lives for

our customer chris boshuizen the first -- >> okay. there is the crew emerging from the capsule. we'll bring in will marshall and co-founder who co-founded that company, that space startup alongside chris boshuizen. will, i want to get your response to this successful, completed mission that your long-time friend and former colleague now has completed. >> yeah. i mean, i'm so happy for chris we've been friends for 20 years and he's been wanting to do this for many, many years also with that, just never gets old. >> this is william shatner describing his experience to jeff bezos. the champagne showers have begun. smiles all around. william shatner taking in the moment >> while the champagne bottles are open, we can probably suspend our coverage for a little bit congratulations to bezos and shatner and to the crew and blue origin, as once again, we see history getting made in this new era of space travel, morgan, which you covered and will continue to cover so beautifully. dow is off the initial intraday lows of about 230 or so. down 136 we'll take a short break and "techcheck" wil

customers green de vries, chris boshuizen on board. on their way to space. nominal flight.e altitude. aiming over the carman line, internationally recognized line of 100 kilometers. that is about 328,000 feet. a gorgeous view down the rocket. and now we've had main engine cutoff. the be-3 engine has shut off. in just a moment we're going to separate the capsule from the booster. and at that point our astronauts will have the opportunity to get out of their harnesses and enjoy the beauties of zero g. let's wait to listen. a clean separation between the capsule and the booster. now you can see the capsule from the top of the booster. they are continuing their ascent over the carman karman line. they are 328,000 feet, over 100 kilometers. welcome to space, the newest astronauts on board our crew capsule . there they are. they have hit just about hit their apogee. at about 351,000 feet. while we don't have apogee, jackie, i can imagine they're having the time of their lives. thank you again, everybody for joining us live from west texas. so far a nominal flight for our second h

chris boshuizen who was riding shotgun in the truck. we'll follow this.e're going to take a quick break. when we come back, the latest from west texas and this historic launch just ahead. hey, dad! hey, son! no dad, it's a video call. you got to move the phone in front of you like..like it's a mirror, dad. you know? alright, okay. how's that? is that how you hold a mirror? [ding] power e*trade gives you an award-winning mobile app with powerful, easy-to-use tools and interactive charts to give you an edge, 24/7 support when you need it the most and $0 commissions for online u.s. listed stocks. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. so, you're recalibrating and reconnecting to the environment. seeing yourself as an artist - legitimate and genuine - can be transformational. daddy! for the best audio entertainment and storytelling. audible. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopp

shatner will join three other passengers, entrepreneurs glen de vries, chris boshuizen and blue origin'srs. >> i don't know if i'm more excited to be going to space with denny crane or captain kirk. >> mr. shatner, you have inspired generations, imaginations for generations with your iconic character. do you take this now -- that was captain kirk. but here is william shatner sitting here about to go to space. do you take this also as an opportunity to inspire? >> no. i'm taking it as an experience. >> reporter: so he's taking it all in, so get this, guys, the entire flight will last about 11 minutes and the crew will get three minutes of weightlessness. the capsule will then parachute back down to earth here in west texas. mona, andrew. >>> morgan, thank you. our streaming channel abc newslive will be covering today's launch as it happens. >>> all right, and from space to sports, it will be win or go eidivisi siefrancisco tomorrow n >>> coming up, a country music star caught on camera confronting a fan who was booing him. >>> also ahead, news for people who haven't bought their pumpkin y

weightless for nearly four minutes with his three fellow passengers, blue origins' audrey powers and chris boshuizen and glen de vries, who each paid an estimated $250,000 to fly >> this is nuts! >> no description could beat this. >> reporter: it was a quick trip soon the booster rocket was landing back on the pad while shatner and team parachuted to a soft landing. >> and the capsule touched down. >> reporter: one of the world's richest men opening the hatch. jeff bezos grew up a star trek and captain kirk fan and invited shatner to fly but for shatner this was far more than a ten-minute joyride. >> what you have given me is the most profound experience i have ever had i'm so filled with emotion about what just happened i hope that i can maintain what i feel now i don't want to lose it. >> reporter: soon after, we caught up with him on the landing pad. bill, you seemed emotional when you came down. >> i still am. i am overwhelmed by what i saw i saw death in the blackness of space. i saw life in the beauty and the warmth of earth. i am 90, close to death. did i see death? i don't know i'm moved by

. >> our customer are chris boshuizen, the first australian citizen to go to space and back and glen devries. >> how was it? oh, my god. >> some big hugs from their loved ones. >> not only is it different than what you thought -- >> well done. >> -- the impression i had that i never expected to have is the -- >> come here. i want one. >> i want to hear this. here. you want a little of this? >> the champagne showers have begun. smiles all around. william shatner taking in the moment clearly. >> everybody in the world needs to be -- everybody in the world needs to see -- unbelievable, unbelievable. the little things of weightlessness. to see the blue color go right by and now you're staring into blackness. that's the thing. the covering of blue -- this comforter blue we have around us, oh, that's blue sky. it's like you whip the sheet off of you when you're asleep and you're looking into black. you look down, there's the blue down there and the black up there. it's just -- there is mother ea earth. is that death? is that the way death is? whoop and it's gone. jesus. it was so moving to

chris boshuizen wanted to be an astronaut from the time he was 4, he said, a dream come true for hime. william shatner talked about safety, and i'd also asked them if they were concerned after this letter came out from 21 current and former employees at blue origin who cited safety as a concern. when you look at all these things happening, where does your mind go in terms of safety? >> in terms of safety, the commercial space industry and commercial space things are very cognizant if it were to suffer an accident, especially early on in these attempts, that would basically shut them down. in a big-picture sense, i don't believe any of these companies will be launching individuals to touch space or into orbit later without being confident in their safety process and their actual rockets and spacecraft and systems. while there's always going to be risk no matter what you do, especially if you're climbing on board a rocket, you weigh the risk/reward ratio and decide for yourself if you're taking that risk. but at a high level, i believe these systems and companies believe their systems

glen de vries and chris boshuizen. >> it was a positive thought for the future so i can't think of a better ambassador than william shatner. >> reporter: last night, we got our first glimpse ever of the astronaut village where those who pay to fly cool their jets before liftoff including the bar and personal accommodations lined up on the perimeter. >> each one of these astronauts stays in these air stream many spaces it's small but luxurious bezos's blue origin is jockeying for a position in the space flight tourism industry. along with spacex and virgin galactic but right now, this view is for high rollers only, although bezos and branson said they hope to make it more widely available in the future. >> ultimately, the price will come down to a level where an awful lot of people will be able to do it >> reporter: here in west texas, high winds postponed the launch day by a day, but did nothing to dampen the spirits of the four astronauts to be who spent the extra time training for the sensation of weightlessness. >> are you ready, bill >> i am so ready extra time trag i am thinking

oldest person his fellow crew members, blue origin executive, audrey powers, glen de vries and chris boshuizen, both reported paid a quarter million dollars for their seats. >> this is nuts! >> reporter: for shatner, the round trip is some 55 years in the making. but this flight turned science fiction into reality. >> welcome back. the newest astronauts. >> reporter: but not everyone is thrilled with the new billionaire space race. prince william saying it distracts from the fight against climate change. >> we need some of the world's greatest brains and minds repairing this planet not trying to find the next place to go live. >> reporter: back on the ground, the space captain who has seen it all was still in awe. >> what you've given me is the most profound experience -- >> reporter: we caught up with him shortly after touchdown. describe the g forces, what did you feel? >> your skin, body is pressed and all the loose skin, you think, i should get cosmetic surgery. >> reporter: shatner's journey was quick but momentous and poignant as he looks to cling onto the ride of his lifetime. >> i hope