>> what does nasa administrator bill nelson say now? >> "firing line with margaret hoover" is made possible in part by... and by... corporate funding is provided by... >> nasa administrator bill nelson, welcome to "firing line." >> thank you so much. i love to talk about space. >> you have said that nasa is in your blood. you grew up on the space coast and became the second sitting member of congress to travel into space aboard the space shuttle columbia in 1986. but a decade ago, nasa seemed adrift in space. the space shuttle program was ending, and the u.s. had no means of reaching space. compared to 10 years ago, senator, where does nasa stand today? >> well, it was specifically 11 years ago that kay bailey hutchison of texas and i wrote the bill that put nasa on the course that it's on, a dual course -- one-course commercial companies that nasa would hire, specifically the delivery of crew and cargo to the international space station. and then the other course, nasa, to get out of low earth orbit and go explore the heavens. and that

i want you all to listen to what bill nelson had to say and, john, i want you to react to it after he gets done. here is nasa administrator bill nelson. >> we're assembling the rocket at this very minute down at the kennedy space center. it will pave the way to return american astronauts to the surface of the moon. that rocket is the space launch system. it will launch our orion spacecraft and kharg dwoe on missions to lunar and beyond and soon, i mean days, we're starting to stack that massive core stage between its two boosters in the vehicle assembly building at ksc. the sls will be the most powerful rocket in the world, 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch. all this means we're on our way to land the next americans on the moon and this time we're going to learn how to live and work on another world. america's long-term presence at the moon, both robotic and human, will help develop the experience and capabilities we need to eventually send the first astronauts to mars. >> so first, john, i want you to react to bill nelson's comments there. >> well, i mean, he described accuratel

they do agree with what i was saying went, what blackburn and bill nelson has said.y concern has always been there is a sector of the democratic party that has a lot of influence that really doesn't vi ew space, the chinese space threat as a threat. and b, doesn't want to see america engage with another space race. they would rather make space like antarctica, a sanctuary from human activity, destructive activity. unfortunately we are well past that stage. space is here. it is not going away. there is a massive investment and it is growing from the private sector around the world. there is a massive interest from china and russia. it is a question of who will get there first and not whether we should go or not. host: is it because we have a couple minutes left. in a situation like that moon, why is it not possible for countries to share. why is that a u.s. thing? guest: the trump administration said we need to get it artemis accord, the new agreement between the world powers to figure out how to develop and exploit new resources -- l unar resources the way we do on e

i wanted to listen to what bill nelson says.ere is nasa administrator bill nelson. >> we are assembling the rocket at this very minute down at the kennedy space center. it will pave the way to return american astronauts to the surface of the moon. that rocket is the space launch system. it will launch our orion spacecraft and cargo on missions to lunar orbit and beyond. and soon -- i mean like days -- we are starting to stack that massive core stage between its two boosters in the vehicle assembly building at ksc. it will be the most powerful rocket in the world -- 8.8 million pounds of thrust at the launch. all this means we are on our way to land the next americans on the moon. and this time, we are going to learn how to live and work on another world. america's long-term presence at the moon, robotic and human, will help develop the experience and capabilities we need to eventually send the first astronauts to mars. jesse: john, i want you to react to bill nelson's comments there. john: well, he describes accurately what nasa

it's also strengthened the nassau leadership by designating bill nelson to run and also the deputy administrator to be the first woman to serve in this capacity in the history of the agency. as the chair of the committee i'm not just representing colorado although colorado had a very strong scientific community led by companies like ball corporation. i have to make sure i get that in. but we also need a whole of government approach to address the challenges we face in space and science. it's the department of defense, the department of commerce. and i think that by continuing the national space council, the biden administration has made it clear that leadership in the space continues to be a priority. and they already have a number of initiatives going forward. the program to land the first woman on the moon of the mars exploration was perseverance and ingenuity. watching those videos and seeing not just the attention in the senate but across america really was inspiring and i think that is the endless frontier act innovation competition act is going to help foster that excitement in a lot of pl

we've got an inside look at his space port and we'll ask former bill nelson what space race means forthem. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the fastest, most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just 30 dollars per line per month when you get four lines- or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >> >>> espn has benched reporter rachel nichols for covering this year's nba finals following her controversial comments about a black colleagued in a leaked audio obtained by "the new york times," nichols is heard in a recording of a private conversation venting about espn's decision to have maria taylor who is black host shows during last ye

thanks, morgan. >>> for more on virgin gal galactic's test fright, let's welcome nasa administrator bill nelsone launch pads were abandoned. there are frequent launches from the cape and there's an excitement there now on the kennedy space center side as the largest rocket, most powerful rocket ever is being stacked and will be launched at the end of the year, the space launch system with the spacecraft owe ryan. , that has an excitement you can't believe. >> what do you think the biggest promise is with some of the private companies, what they're doing. what is the public promise what do you hope to see. >> >> space manufacturing. we're seeing that already on the international space station which is 300 miles above us. it has constant experiments. it has pharmaceutical manufacturing. we're going to see that further out into space in the future we're going to see mining on as steroids we're going to see all kinds of commercial ventures on the surface of the moon. needles to say, the heavens are there to be explored >> bill, you said you're proud of what these billionaires are doing. senator ber

. >>> nas ark administrator bill nelson is with us now.pace? >> i love it and they certainly had their due. shepard, these guys have contributed a lot. the "the washington post" space rider calls them the space barrons. >> you know, i remember being at nasa when the last shuttle launch was going up, and i think you were there, too, and everyone from spaceville from titusville to cocoa beach were so sad and to see what's happened since, it's extraordinary. >> it's just extraordinary all of those abandoned launchpads on cape canaveral, they have come to life it's now not unusual that there's a space launch every woke and there's exciting team aha. we're going to launch the most powerful report ever at the ent of the year. going out beyond the monand come back and in two years, it's going to have a rocket out to the moon and then come back. >> the agency called it the most nerve racking flight so far. how important is that technology to our future and space explorationing >> this was a demonstration. now it's a regular plan are nas, a. it's o

joining us now is nasa administrator bill nelson.r from florida, he helped expand private/partnership programs to allow for many of the milestones we're seeing today. i guess it's mr. administrator now, i'm so used to call you mr. senator in the hallway. great to have you, mr. administrator. i guess i have to set aside my personal bias which is please let me know how you can get a political reporter on these space crafts. surely it's important for other reasons as well. i'll start with a tough question is that i think there's a lot of people here on earth who are really struggling with basic things and they look at what these billionaires are doing and they wonder, why aren't they spending their billions on trying to improve the quality of life for people here on the planet, trying to figure things out? what do you say to those people who see these billionaires blast off and resent them? >> well, and i understand that, because i've dealt in that world of constantly having to stand up for the little guy and make sure that they are pro

host: first john, i want you to react to bill nelson's comments. guest: well, i mean he described accurately what nasa is currently doing. the sls is now stacked at kennedy space center. its first flight is scheduled for early this year or early 2022. this will be a flight without humans aboard to send the orion capsule around the moon. the second flight scheduled for 2023 will carry a crew but not landing. they hope that the third flight will carry a crew with a landing system which is yet to be begun to return to the moon by 2024. i think that is a very optimistic schedule but yes, this is the program that nasa is carrying out that is costing multiple billions of dollars of your public money. host: let's let some of our viewers take part. let's start with sharon calling from hanover, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: yes, thank you. many of us view this entire thing as extreme human hubris, ego. these projects certainly require resources, fuel, they pollute. the so-called missions may involve things like mining the moon, an idea brought out by

. >> nasa administrator bill nelson, welcome to firing line. >> thank you so much. i love to talk about space. >> you have said nasa is in your blood. you grew up on the space coast and became the second sitting member of congress to travel into space, aboard the space shuttle columbia, in 1986. but a decade ago, nasa seem to drift in space. the space shuttle program was ending, the u.s. had no means of reaching space. compared to ten years ago, senator, where does nasa stand today? >> well, it was specifically 11 years ago that kay bailey hutchinson of texas, and i, wrote a bill that put nasa on the course that it is on. a dual course. one course, commercial companies that nasa would hire, specifically the delivery of crew and cargo to the international space station. and then, the other course, nasa, to get out of low earth orbit and go explore the heavens. that is the course that we are on. in that period of time, the space shuttle was coming to an end, after the destruction of columbia, it was strongly encouraged to shut it down and come up with the design that

they do agree with what i was saying went, what blackburn and bill nelson has said.ncern has always been there is a sector of the democratic party that has a lot of influence that really doesn't vi ew space, the chinese space threat as a threat. and b, doesn't want to see america engage with another space race. they would rather make space like antarctica, a sanctuary from human activity, destructive activity. unfortunately we are well past that stage. space is here. it is not going away. there is a massive investment and it is growing from the private sector around the world. there is a massive interest from china and russia. it is a question of who will get there first and not whether we should go or not. host: is it because we have a couple minutes left. in a situation like that moon, why is it not possible for countries to share. why is that a u.s. thing? guest: the trump administration said we need to get it artemis accord, the new agreement between the world powers to figure out how to develop and exploit new resources -- l unar resources the way we do on earth

that's next, right and mike massimino and our own morgan brennan bill nelson. we're close. on side of your screen, that is oliver daemen. . first paying passengers onboard. the launch of this flight will mark the first time we have actually seen a u.s. company carry a paying passenger, and a u.s. company carry a paying passenger to the edge of space he, of course, took that seat after the anonymous winner of that $28 million auction rescheduled to a later flight, but, guys, it looks like we're looking at video of the base of the rocket here. looks like the launch time may have been paused i'm going to check in on that right now and get right back to you on that. looks like we're at hold t minus 15. >> we see that on our screen here, too, morgan. obviously, these things can move watching these issues. >> reporter: absolutely. >> 62 miles up, morgan, and then they detach the capsule at the top that you see, and then, what is it? about three minutes of weightlessness they can expect, but the whole trip about 11 minutes? >> reporter: whole trip, completely autonomous, 11 minute

host: first john, i want you to react to bill nelson's comments.st: well, i mean he described accurately what nasa is currently doing. the sls is now stacked at kennedy space center. its first flight is scheduled for early this year or early 2022. this will be a flight without humans aboard to send the orion capsule around the moon. the second flight scheduled for 2023 will carry a crew but not landing. they hope that the third flight will carry a crew with a landing system which is yet to be begun to return to the moon by 2024. i think that is a very optimistic schedule but yes, this is the program that nasa is carrying out that is costing multiple billions of dollars of your public money. host: let's let some of our viewers take part. let's start with sharon calling from hanover, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: yes, thank you. many of us view this entire thing as extreme human hubris, ego. these projects certainly require resources, fuel, they pollute. the so-called missions may involve things like mining the moon, an idea brought out by newt

brian: let's bring in bill nelson, nasa administrator, experienced astronaut maybe the most famous in now? what should people at home understand about this mission? >> any time you defy gravity, the way these folks are, there is danger. i think it's great that these billionaires are spending their money to develop all of these new technologies. they are opening up to ordinary folks that wouldn't have the training that astronaut terry berts has and by the way he's a pilot f-16 pilot extraordinaire, and so but it's opening up so that people can get a glimpse of this extraordinary planet, albeit only for a couple of minutes before they start coming back down. i think what's happening is great, and look at the accomplishments already. look what elon musk, the billionaire has already accomplished going into orbit and delivering crew to the international space station and jeff bezos now is developing a rocket that will go into orbit and will go further exploration, so i think we're seeing dawn of a new space age. brian: i love it, and bill, there's a lot of people you just touched on it, wh

a infrastructure and future generations can build on that. >> joining us is nasa administrator, bill nelsonst flight that's been pushed to next week now, part of the commercial crew, that spacex is a part of as well, how important is it to see this test flight go off without a hitch and for astronauts to eventually be able to climb on board? >> it's very important it's very important that we have another spacecraft to have access to space with our astronaut crews. spacex has been supplying that ever since we shut down the space shuttle 11 years ago waevl been using the russians until spacex was able to get the aircraft certified they delivered through crews already to the international space station. and boeing has had delays but this spacecraft, starliner, is ready to go. the count is going smooth as glass. and then, would you know it, something completely related to boeing and starliner the [ inaudible ] of the russian started firing to stabilize the entire space station >> and i'm assuming that issue we saw play out yesterday in real time, is it safe to say it's been resolved everybody i

caroline: nasa administrator bill nelson outlined the benefits of this renewed interest in space explorationg was able to watch jeff bezos head to space. the excitement seemed so palpable. emily: the excitement was palpable. you definitely held your breath for a moment. the rocket took off. there was a moment where i was just watching it and it occurred me -- it occurred to me jeff bezos and through other people were on the rocket and where they going to make it? it was intense and it went so fast. this is an 11 minute trip up and down after two and a half minutes, the separation and the capsule is going onward and upward into space. i liken it to a roller coaster but twice as long. it was quick. i want to know from brad because he has been covering amazon in jeff bezos since 1999 when it was a shell of an online bookstore. what was taking in that moment like for you? >> i agree it was electric. it was a great day for blue origin. the eyes of the world were on the company. i am struck by how blue origin desperately needed this day. this is a 20-year-old company. it has been working on a subo

i am thinking of when bill nelson and marco rubio turned the damage after hurricane, a very similar vignetteto get there. >> do you think there will be any repercussions? i remember governor of florida, a republican at that time, he embraced barack obama and that was it for charlie chris. i mean, he was -- he was no longer welcome at the republican party, after that. will desantis be punished for this? >> oh, no, i don't think so. this is a little different. this is a very -- a natural -- or unnatural disaster where a lot of people lost their lives. and the president has a role to play. and the governor of florida has to role to play to help draw the president in. and i think ron did exactly the right thing and -- and continues to show his leadership in florida. >> it was nice to see, on both sides of it. just that they could keep politics out of it, even for just a moment. congressman, you are also a former diplomat and i want to get your take on the major news, overnight, that the last-u.s. troops who were based at bagram airbase. bagram, a symbol of u.s. power for two decades, the last tr

joining me, former astronaut and senator, bill nelson.try has been losing interest in space travel over the last few decades, but what happened yesterday, that can only happen in america. and what we saw just two weeks ago with richard branson. can these events get america excited again? >> america is already excited. first of all, you saw how excited jeff bezos was, and look at how america got excited about the volkswagen sized rover on mars and then the little helicopter. and now all of this, plus elon going into orbit, taking crews to and from the international space station. stephanie, at the end of the year, we're going to launch the largest, most expansive, the most thrust rocket that has ever launched off of the planet, the space launch system, which is going to take us back to the moon. so people are excited. >> does all of this show us that the government doesn't have to be responsible for funding everything? you've got these private businesses with these space flights doing all sorts of research and development and the governmen

bill nelson is surrounded by inspiration to get america back into space. >> we've got a lot of excitingre doing. >> 35 years after nelson launched into orbit. he's back as the head of nasa truth be known. i'm like a kid in the candy shop actual capsule. now not only have the crafts changed so notice the but so has who is sending them into space groups like space x and boeing are now partnering with nasa to lower the cost of space travel encouraging. the development commercial of space nelson push for this partnership when he was a senator. now as administrator. he seeing nasa take off to new heights in 2024 americans will shoot for the moon for the first time in 50 years aiming to land the first woman and potentially first person of color on the moon. it's reflecting the diversity of our country. the first test flight is scheduled for liftoff by the end of this year and a spacecraft that could push humans further into space than ever before. we're going to launch the largest most powerful rocket ever. with the help of new partners and developing technologies. nasa is entering a new gene

nasa administrator bill nelson testified to congress that the images beamed back from the rover shouldon't own all of this. and it is a very aggressive competitor. >> reporter: kristen fisher, cnn, washington. >> thanks so much for joining us. anderson starts now. >>> good evening. we begin with five words that define where we are in the pandemic. acknowledge the war has changed. those words come from a slide present, a strengths within the cdc. the war has changed. because the enemy has. the delta variant according to the cdc presentation travels as easily as chickenpox, meaning every person, each person can infect on average as many as nine other people. additionally, today the agency released this study is based its new recommendation on to wear a mask indoors even if you have been vaccinated and showed that infections with th

appeared that did not work, that is when jeff bezos wrote the open letter to the administrator bill nelson known get back into the competition. he also said this in case that was not enough. in the letter, he said if nasa has different ideas of getting back to true competition, now we are willing and ready to discuss them. he is putting everything on the table to get back in the game and be part of this artemis program. >> give me a price. tell me how much it will cost. you said 2024. >> i know. >> that isis awfully close. is that a real date to get americans back to the moon? >> the official word from nasa and the biden administration is yes. that is the goal. they believe they can do it. if you talked to folks within the industry, they say it is unlikely that will happen. anytime you have a gao protest, that slows things down. the big picture? yes, this was started by the trump administration. it now has the full support of the biden administration and it is very difficult as you know for programs to make the jump successfully from one administration to the next. at least artemis has don

. >> nasa administrator bill nelson, good to see you again as always. >>> there's new right now weathering to the national hurricane center it now has maximum sustained winds at 75 miles an hour, so one click above tropical storm level doesn't really make a difference the storm surge is going to be a thing here they are hopeful that it will go into the more unpopulated area o around the big bend, but anything north of tampa be ready so the forward progress is now northward at 14 miles per hour >>> bordeaux, france, probably the most famous wine region. thousands of miles away, a country looking to crush the competition and why the next great wine could be made in china. (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) hmm, that is really something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. see ya. (kid) may i have a balloon, too? (burke) sure. your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right? ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ (burke) start with a quote at 1

. >>> shifting gears, stunning proposal from jeff bezos to bill nelson in a letter released this morning nasa's near term budgetary short fall for the human landing system in a pitch to get the national team led by blue origin and also includes lockheed martin, northrop grumman and draper back into the key program bezos writing, the agency must act now to create the real competition it needs and it should not repeat work already delivered and investments already made this is in a surprise move back in april, nasa did award $2.9 billion to spacex as the sole winner for the lunar lander, citing budget constraints. since then, the team has as well as another bidder filed protests with the gao to better set to be resolved early next month. but in this letter, bezos offering to essentially foot the bill to the tune of billions on development and some testing of this lunar lander. and it really speaks to, carl, especially post space flight last week and bezos telling me that he plans to spend a significant amount of his time on blue origin now that he stepped down as amazon how seriously he is

infrastructure bill on hold in the evenly divided senate with so little getting done in the hyper polarizing times, is is the upper chamber, the senate broken. our next guest thinks so. ben nelson, former two term senator from nebraska, a democrat, a new book coming out called the death of senate. senator nelson, thanks for being with us. that title gives us a sense of how you think things are going there. what's biggest obstacle right now in the senate? >> first of all, thanks for having me this morning. i think everybody understands that the way the senate is behaving that at best it's on life support because of the inability to come together and work. now, there are some efforts underway, but i don't know how significant they are in ittermsf numbers. if you can't count votes in d.c., you're in lala land. if the votes are there, and they can come together, then we'll see the senate resuscitated. but the way it is right now, it's on life support. >> inability to come together and work. whose fault is that? >> well, it's easy to say it's the system's fault, but it isn't necessarily the system's fault. people want to blame the filibuster as being the reason. that's not the case.

bill have been tested and have increased voter participation. until there is no evidence of voter fraud regarding these matters. there's increased voter participation. thoseei things will be limited. >> thank youon ms. nelsont's along these lines we've identified a lot of these issues george has passed a law that is kind of unbelievable in some of its provisions but how is the for the people act we know it will help in one important way in identifying those policies and states that have discriminatory conduct going forward which is one of the issues that would be forward-looking. they would have to come before the justicear department for a approval. but for the people act is firmly grounded in the constitution. december been doubted as a congress and make an altar provisions governing federal elections. is one of the things that interest me so much about the bill. can you talk about some of the important protections in this and how it would simply create some basic national standards instead ofrd this mass including how we count the ballots after some states including some blue states waiting and not even starting to count them until after the election is over and evans kept in suspense for weeks. anyway,

bill, things that have been tested and have increased voter participation. there is no evidence of voter fraud regarding these matters, there is evidence of increased voter participation, and those are the things being limited. >> miss nelson, and is along these lines that we have identified a lot of these issues, georgia passed a law that is unbelievable and some of its provisions. how does the for the people act, we know the john lewis act will help in one important way, which is identifying those policies and states that engage in discriminatory conduct and going forward, which is one of the issues, it would be forward-looking for the justice department to -- for approval. but the for the people act is grounded in the constitution. the provision in the constitution that has never been doubted says that congress can make and alter provisions governing federal elections. it's one of the things that interests me so much about the bill. can you talk about some of the important protections in this and how it would create some basic, national standards for voting instead of this mess, including how we count the ballots after in some states, including blue states, waiting and not counting them until after the election is over