kristin fisher, to you first. let's talk about what is expected from branson now that we have seen this play-by-play all morning long and now this press conference at any moment? >> reporter: well, he's going to be fielding a ton of questions from reporters who want to pepper him with a bit more detail than what we got during the speech that he just gave moments ago. what a successful and exciting day here at space port america. this is a big deal. it's the first time in the history of the world that somebody has built a spacecraft and then flown it into space. it all started a little over two hours ago when sir richard branson and two pilots and three other mission specialists took off on spaceship 2 unit, attached to the belly of the mother ship eve, named after richard branson's own mom. they flew for about 50 minutes to proper altitude, at which point the mother ship released spaceship 2. it freefell for a about two seconds until the pilots took control. this one is piloted by actual pilots. those pilots threw

. >> kristin fisher, can i come back to you for a second? >> can i eat this apple, by the way? >> neil wants to eat his apple. i think he can. kristin, your parents are both astronauts, and i wonder whether you have some perspective about what did they see when they went up? did they talk about the curvature of the earth? what are your memories of the conversations with them? >> reporter: well, it's kind of the same thing that richard branson has been talking so much about, home that he's going to get to see and hoping that he can share with all of his future customers, and that is really just seeing earth from afar, seeing it all in one glance. my mom and dad often talked about how you would never see any boundaries between countries, you could see how thin the atmosphere was, how fragile it was. any time you go into space, people come back and say, oh, my gosh, it was truly a transformative experience. some even call it a religious experience. it really does seem to change a person, and richard branson, he has been talking about wanting to go to space since the late '80s at th

kristin fisher and i will be back. we're going to take a short break. we're expecting a press conference from jeff bezos and all of the members of the crew who were in space today. we'll take a short break and we'll be right back. what if you could have the perspective to see more? at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers investors a broader view. ♪ we see companies protecting the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the next challenge. today, we are translating decades of experience into strategies for the road ahead. we are morgan stanley. ♪ it's velveeta shells & cheese versus the other guys. ♪ clearly, velveeta melts creamier. millions of vulnerable americans struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. that's why i started medhaul. citi launched the impact fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision and give everything i've got to my company, and my community. i got you. for the

let's begin by heading to kristin fisher, cnn space and defense correspondent, who is there, and what looks like the desert but it's one of the most remarkable places in the world right now. kristin, welcome to cnn. it's your first weekend on the air with us. you couldn't have picked a better time to start. what does this feel like in truth and consequences, new mexico? >> reporter: it feels incredibly exciting. what a first day at cnn. i can't believe it. we're here in a desert because there is not a lot around here, so if something bad were to happen, there is a lot of places where this spaceship could go. as you said, a very aptly named truth or consequences, new mexico, and so we watched as spaceship 2 took off about 20 minutes ago attached to mother ship eve which is the name of richard branson's mom, aptly named for a mother ship, and now we're just waiting for it to get to the proper altitude. at that point, about 20 to 30 minutes, what we're going to see is the mother ship eve release spaceship 2. it's going to go in a freefall for a little bit and then the pilots are going to

kristin fisher has a look at his flight and ambitions. >> ever since i was five years old, i've beenate about space. >> reporter: jeff bezos grew up spending summers at his grand grandparents' ranch in texas dreaming of a day when he could go into space. and he was obsessed with sar trek, and secretly buying land in texas using a character's name for the purchase. >> one, two -- >> reporter: it took him about half a century, but today on the 52nd anniversary of that first lunar landing, bezos made his dreams come true in the same skies over the loanne star stat. bezos, his brother, wally funk and oliver daemon enjoyed about 10 minutes of spacelessness. but it is not cheap. he first needed to found the company that made him the wealthiest man in the world. at amazon, jeff bezos turned online bookstore he created out of his garage 27 years ago into a delivery juggernaut. but he never lost sight of those childhood dreams. >> if i could do anything, i would like to go help explore space. >> reporter: now bezos along with fellow billionaire elon musk are trying to disrupt space travel the

let's go to kristin fisher. good morning. it is scary, but all okay? >> reporter: all okay.in immediate danger but any time you have to declare a spacecraft emergency, it is a very serious situation. and so essentially what happened, there was in module coming from russia, the russian space agency cosmos meaning science in russian and it is long delayed and plagued by propulsion issues and finally yesterday morning it docked with the international space station meaning it was locked together and three hours later it started firing in inadvertently the thruster so they described it as a tug-of-war up in space between the new russian module and the international space station. and it is so dangerous because the space station is only designed to operate in zero g with very little force. and so this module was pushing and kind of torquing the international space station, moving it to an attitude, not an altitude, but an attitude of where it is supposed to be and the astronauts lost communications for 11 minutes with mission control in houston, texas. and in russia. now ultimatel

kristin fisher is at the launch site in texas. kristin, how is it looking?opefully the weather will be all clear for this big launch 9:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow morning. and right now, all systems go for that launch in this remote stretch of desert in west texas. and this is a moment that jeff bezos and blue origin have been preparing for for 21 years, the first time that people will actually ride on top of one of those rockets. and these four kru crew memberse been training here for the last two days. tomorrow morning, they will be going up in the new shepherd reusable rocket systems. this means we will see not only a rocket launch, but a rocket landing, something that had never been done before until just a few years ago, which is when jeff bezos did that. elon musk followed suit a month later. fast forward a few years, and we saw this race between richard branson and jeff bezos. jeff bezos essentially said this morning in his couple of interviews that he gets the criticism. he understands why some people are upset that all these billionaires are going

. >> kristin fisher, let me bring you in. what does this moment mean for the future of space travel, not just democratizing it, but also filling in some of the holes that perhaps need to be filled by the fact that countries are not at least with the same enthusiasm as in the past pursuing space exploration. >> reporter: i think mailings was -- miles was spot on. nasa was never going to do what virgin galactic just did and what jeff bezos will do in two days, which is taking paying customers and sending them up into orbit. i know there are folks wringing their hands, that we're talking about these billionaires and rich people going into space. that's how big things happen and change is made. if you look back to the beginning of flight, airplanes traveling in the sky, it was rich people that started doing that first. then it became more readily available to the masses. i understand the frustration, but this is the beginning of, as you said, the democratizization of space. boy, that was a textbook test flight. i'm standing liter

kristin fisher, yours as well.hank you so much. >>> coming up next, there's a lot of focus on the four who flew today and how that he had life-changing experience today. we're about to introduce you to where to others who had most likely a life changing experience today as well. we're talking about van jones and chef jose andres who made helping the community a central part of their lives, communities all around the world. they got a remarkable surprise that we learned about today from jeff bezos. both men awarded $100 million each to further their work. they're here with me. we'll talk to them. >>> later a different kind of surprise. breaking news. as one of the former president east friends is arrested on felony charges. what if you could have the perspective to see more? at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers investors a broader view. ♪ we see companies protecting the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the next

kristin fisher, yours as well. thank you so much. >>> coming up next, there's a lot of focus on the four people who flew today and how that he had life-changing experience today. we're about to introduce you to other people who had most likely a life-changing experience as well today. we're talking about van jones and chef jose andres who made helping the community a central part of their lives, communities all around the world. they got a remarkable surprise that we learned about today from jeff bezos. both men awarded $100 million each to further their work. they're here with me. we'll talk to them. >>> later, a different kind of surprise. breaking news. as one of the former president's one-time friends is arrested on federal felony charges. ♪ 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. ♪ ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ oh! are you using liberty mutual's coverage customizer tool? sorry? well, since you asked. it finds discount

kristin fisher, live for us in new mexico. >> thank you so much. >>> just ahead, we're going to fact told the cpac crowd, quote, we don't want your welfare. usaa is made for the safe pilots. like mac. who can come to a stop with barely a bobble. with usaa safepilot, when you drive safe... ...you can save up to 30% on your auto insurance. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. get a quote today. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ >>> a suspect speech at cpac over the weekend, blasting lockdown restrictions and made this claim about government benefits. >> we're here to tell government we don't want your benefits. we don't want your welfare. don't come knocking on my door with your fauci ouchy. you leave us the hell alone. >> colorado constituents receive government assistance and have received money from covid relief bills. to fact check the claims, cnn reporter daniel dale, are her comments in line with what people in her district are going through, daniel? >> report

. >> kristin fisher is at the site of today's launch.ike a kid at the end of a roller coaster. he's saying again, again. he wants to do it again. >> reporter: he wants to go again and so does blue origin. they are planning two more flights of this reusable spacecraft before the end of the year. something else that jeff bezos was talking about when describing what it was like to be in space. he said whn yen you're weightle when you're in 0g, he thought it felt so normal, so natural. he got the sense being weight less is what humanity is supposed to evolve to. it all kind of ties in and fits in blue origins grand vision which is many, many years from now, humanity is going to move heavy industry mining things of that nature and depleting resources. move all that into space so you can preserve our resources, protect the planet and protect the species. a lot of what jeff bezos experienced today really reenforced his founding mission for this company. >> he said he wants to make space tourism travel affordable for the masses. is that possible

kristin fisher, thank you, joining anderson cooper later this hour, anchoring special coverage. >>> nearly 1,400 infections just three days before the olympics begin. the number of cases linked to the summer games has risen to 71 positive cases among american athletes, that include cara aker, katie lou samuelson, a member of the 3 by 3 women's basketball team, and neither of the women is going to get to compete. incredibly disappointing, especially since both were fully vaccinated organizers say it is still unclear how many people will be participating in friday's opening ceremony. in the mean tile dr. jill biden is planning to travel to tokyo for the opening event. the last time a u.s. first lady attended the opening ceremony was michelle obama in 2012. we are going live to tokyo with dr. sanjay gupta in a moment. first, erica hill has a look at the current state of the pandemic as cases rise here in the u.s. >> reporter: the delta variant spreading across the united states, fueling a spike in new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. and with less than half the country fully v

kristin fisher following all of this from van horn, texas. kristen, good to have you on.ill launch from. kristen, just starting with how this will go down tomorrow, he's not going into orbit, and that is key. he's going really high and higher than branson went but not into orbit. >> reporter: not into orbit. this is a suborbital space flight. this desert in west texas, this is about as remote as it gets which is what you want when you are testing and flying rocket news space. and almost all of this land, about 300,000 acres of it, is owned by jeff bezos and his company blue origin. they have conducted 15 test flights consecutive successful test flights of the suborbital rocket system called new shepherd. it is the first time tomorrow that people are actually on board. and none other than jeff bezos himself is going to be on the the flight tomorrow along with his brother mark and if all goes according to plan, 18-year-old oliver damon is the youngest person to ever fly in space. he's also blue origin's first paying customer. though technically it was his father. and then y

kristin fisher is at launch site one in van horn, texas. and kristen, we are going to hear from jeff bezos and the crew soon. excitement as they landed, excitement as they were experiencing weightlessness. i even think one of them said if i heard correctly, do you want a skittle in the midst of that moment. but quite a moment in space. >> reporter: yeah, there was so much cheering, so i just can't wait to see the video from that. but at least we got to hear the audio because you know those work crew members were having the time of their life. when you think about what this meant for those four now astronauts, i mean this is a life long dream for jeff bezos, but also an even longer dream for that 82-year-old wally funk. you saw her walk out of that capsule with her arms wide open, big smile on her face and then that 18-year-old oliver maimon just and jeff bezos's mobrother mark. we don't know when the press conference will begin but i would imagine blue origin absolutely thrilled by what just happened. that was a text book launch and landing

. >> kristin fisher is at the launch state, cnn's new space and defense correspondent. thank you so much, jake. >> i want to ask you. we're so glad to have you here in time for this historic day. i want to ask about safety for you because virgin galactic had a crash in 2014 that killed one pilot, regrettably, and seriously injured another. the ntsb found it was due to human error. what kind of last-minute safety checks are going on right now? >> so right after that accident back in 2014, the ntsb found it was human error but also blamed it on the spaceship's builder saying that scaled composites should have anticipated that that kind of human error could happen. and so what they did back then was they put what's called an inhibitor in to keep that kind of human error from happening again. the chance of something like what happened in 2014 happening again very slim. but as you know, jake, space flight always a very dangerous and risky business. right now they are going through all of their final checks. we already had one weather delay this morning. and in terms of what t

. >> kristin fisher, thank you so much. good to see you. anderson cooper will lead the live coverage from texas tomorrow morning starting at 8:00 a.m. right here on cnn. you can follow me on facebook, inst instagram, twitter and the tiktok. our coverage continues. jim acosta is in "the situation room." >>> happening now, as covid cases and deaths rise across the u.s., the stock market plunges with the dow tumbling more than 700 points. anxiety over the dangerous delta variant is also prompting a new warning for school children to mask up. we're tracking a widening covid outbreak ahead of the summer olympics. four u.s. athletes now testing positive just four days before the games begin. cnn is live in tokyo. and the first capitol rioter convicted of a felony is sentenced to eight months in prison, less than prosecutors wanted. >>> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm jim acosta, and you are in "the situation room." we begin this hour with the delta variant hitting this country harde

. >> kristin fisher is at the space launch site. >> richard branson celebrating tonight after achieving this life-long dream of seeing planet earth from space and finally becoming an astronaut. he got his wings after a successful test flight. the ship returned in pristine condition. the crew returned safe. and what this is, is really the fulfillment of 17 years of tough work and a few setbacks by the entire virgin galactic team. listen to how richard branson summed it up, at times a little bit at a loss for words after returning from the edge of space. >> i just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who has believed in virgin galactic. the team who have worked so hard to make this dream come true. love you all. it's 17 years of painstaking work, and the occasional horrible down but, by and large, ups with it and today was definitely the biggest up. >> and they went all the way up. 53.5 miles above earth. that is above the demarcation line for which the u.s. government recognizes as the edge of space. and the way it works, spaceship 2 took off attached to a m