we have cnn reporters on the ground in new mexico where the launch is happening, rachel crane and kristen fisher. rachel, what are you hearing about -- what is going to happen? what are we going to see? >> reporter: well, fareed, we just had a really exciting moment happen just a few short moments ago. we saw richard branson and his specialists come out of the hangar, get in their vehicles and head out to the runway where vss unity, their spaceship, their mother eve are parked and ready to take off in about 30 minutes. this lift-off, the mother ship eve will take vss unity to about 40,000 feet. that's when the spaceship will release and the rocket engine will ignite, shooting these soon-to-be astronauts into the edge of space where they will experience a few precious minutes of weightlessness before gliding back here to earth and space port america will they will be greeted with a spectacle in branson fashion. there is music that will greet them, tons of vips have flocked here to america to watch what has been nearly two decades in the making, fareed. >> it's so telling of the age. there

rachel crane has more on this historic mission. >> pam, this flight was nearly two decades in the making. and the company saying that richard branson's maiden flight was flawless. and nobody more excited about that than the company's founder and new astronaut richard branson himself. i had the opportunity to speak with him following the flight about the excitement and the energy of it. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i've dreamt of going to space since i was a kid. i've always pictured what it would be like. and it was just far more extraordinary than i could ever, ever imagined. from the -- from going 0 to 3,000 miles an hour in seven or eight seconds, being pressed back into the seat, the roar of the rocket to arriving in space and the silence. you know, to looking out of the window, seeing our glorious, glorious earth. the colors of the sky. to unbuckling and floating just literally just going off to the ceiling and floating, looking back down in these big windows that now the spaceship is upside down, facing back down to the earth. seeing these three float around underneath m

. >> rachel crane reporting. today is not the day you want to fly into space. it was beautiful around here. >> absolutely. >> more of this. i want to show you a sunset from tonight. the sun went down at 8:27. and it was really absolutely beautiful. but there is one thing i do want you to notice. the oranges and a little bit of smoke layer right above there. that is all in the upper parts of the atmosphere from the wildfires that are burning. let's take a look at a look at the smoke forecast. smoke is expected to be in the upper layers of the atmosphere. we are expecting the blues there. regardless it will be a little bit on the hazy side. and our air quality will be good to moderate for the next four days. keep that in mind as we head out and about and make our plans. a little bit of fog swept away. not a whole lot there. by morning, you will see more. do be prepared for it. temperatures right now from the 50s to the 70s. a live look from our east bay camera. fog there in the background. fog and patchy drizzle at the coast in the morning. sunny for most areas b

cnn innovation and correspondent rachel crane joins me now. ing of off, if i could say that. >> that is right, jim. the optics here do seem to suggest that branson was trying to beat bezos, but branson telling me he does not see this as a race nor does any member of the virgin galactic team. that this accelerated time line was a result of an updated faa license. in addition to what the company said was a flawless test flight that happened just a few weeks ago. that that is behind the accelerated time line and nobody is more excited about this than richard branson himself. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i'm going up in, as some, to test the customer experience. and i'm just going to enjoy every single minute of it. it is something that, i think, millions an millions out there would want to take my seat. and i'm going to enjoy every second from the beginning to the end. >> jim, branson went on to even invite jeff bezos to this upcoming space flight scheduled for this sunday. now, branson's objective on this flight is to test the astronau

rachel crane joins me now.ne-upmanship here. >> from the outside, it could look that way. but i spoke to branson just moments ago and he maintains that this is not a race. that bezos's plans did not impact his decision to join the flight manifest for this upcoming test launch. but it is news here. because originally branson was not intended to be on this next test flight. he was going to be on the following test flight. so this is news here that branson will be beating jeff bezos to space in just ten days from now. i had an opportunity to speak with branson asking him about the competitive nature between the two. listen to what he had to say, jim. >> i would love jeff to come and see our flight off whenever it takes place. and i would love to be on to watch him go on his flight and i think both of us wish each other well and it really doesn't matter whether one of us goes a few days before the other. >> reporter: and jim, branson went on to tell me that this was a result of a successful test flight six weeks ag

and here is rachel crane report willing on that breathtaking moment when it detached from the mothership named eve. >> reporter: you can hear the crowd cheering behind me. this is that historic moment that richard branson and his team have been waiting for for nearly two decades. and we have release. the engine has ignited. this is the moment that branson and his team have been waiting for. i have to pause, i have to take this in, this is really an i incredible moment. >> it was an incredible. and it was an hour long journey and a few minutes of weightlessness as well. but the journey to get here was decades in the making. not only did branson make it happen, but he brought all of us along with him. >> experience of a lifetime. and congratulations to everybody for creating such a beautiful, beautiful place. congratulations to all our wonderful team at virgin galactic. 17 years of hard work to get us this far. >> make being him the first billionaire to travel into sub space. his goal to make commercial space flights like this one available to the public some day. once back on earth, brans

. >> rachel crane reporting. today is not the day you want to fly into space.was beautiful around here. >> absolutely. >> more of this. i want to show you a sunset from tonight. the sun went down at 8:27. and it was really absolutely beautiful. but there is one thing i do want you to notice. the oranges and a little bit of smoke layer right above there. that is all in the upper parts of the atmosphere from the wildfires that are burning. let's take a look at a look at the smoke forecast. smoke is expected to be in the upper layers of the atmosphere. we are expecting the blues there. regardless it will be a little bit on the hazy side. and our air quality will be good to moderate for the next four days. keep that in mind as we head out and about and make our plans. a little bit of fog swept away. not a whole lot there. by morning, you will see more. do be prepared for it. temperatures right now from the 50s to the 70s. a live look from our east bay camera. fog there in the background. fog and patchy drizzle at the coast in the morning. sunny for most areas by th

cnn business innovation and space correspondent rachel crane is live at the launch site in new mexicoson and not just for his individually, but also for the space tourism industry. >> reporter: that is absolutely right, boris. i mean, branson himself in the space tourism industry more broadly has been waiting nearly two decades for this space flight. so people here on the the ground and really space enthusiasts around the world very eager to see some space fright tame off on sunday. no one more excited than richard branson himself. i had the opportunity to speak with him about the upcoming space flight and he'd never been more excited in his life. and on the the point of the competitive spirit between blue origin, jeff bezos's space company and virgin galactic, branson saying they do not see this as a race. despite the fact that outsiders have pegged it this way. in my conversation he went so far as to invite jeff bezos to the launch on sunday. now of course it remains to be if jeff bezos will be present. i have a feeling he is very busy preparing for his own suborbital space flight s

rachel crane, thank you so much for that. >>> back here on earth, americans are hitting the road and. why health experts fear this could cause the delta variant to surge, especially among those who are unvaccinated. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back. y 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. never settle for 25%. always go for 100. bring out the bold™ (vo) i am living with cll and i am living longer. thanks to imbruvica. imbruvica is a prescription medicine for adults with cll or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. it will not work for everyone. imbruvica is the #1 prescribed oral therapy for cll, and it's proven to help people live longer. imbruvica is not chemotherapy. imbruvica can cause serious side effects, which may lead to death. bleeding problems are common and may increase with blood thinners. serious infections with symptoms like fevers, chills, weakness or confusion and severe decrease in blood counts can happen. heart rhythm problems and heart failure may occur especially in people with increased risk of heart disease, infection, or past heart rhythm problems.

cnn's rachel crane is live in new mexico this morning.day away, a little over a day away, what more can you tell bus the space race? >> reporter: let's talk about the phrase you just said. space race. i mean, while optically, yes, i admit it does in fact look like a race. branson and his team maintaining to me that they do not see this as a race between virgin galactic and blue origin, or rather branson and bezos as outsiders pegged it virgin galactic and branson saying the accelerated time line for this test flight is the result of an updated the f.a. chl a. flight. allowing a seamless test flight allowing them to accelerate the time line and beating bezos as first crewed flight set for july 20th. but let me tell you, boris and christi, here on the ground, we are behind the gates at spaceport, america yesterday. it's exciting. and a flurry of activity. yesterday was a down day for the crew to rest. branson spending the day with family and friends who have come here to new mexico to view the space flight. but at spaceport america, far fro

rachel crane is cnn's innovation and space correspondence and she's joining us now from new mexico.nticipated, there has to be a lot of excitement in the air there. >> reporter: oh, fred, that is completely right. you hit the head on the nail. and it's activity. the runway right over there. 12,000 feet long that richard branson and his rocket powered space plane vss unity will take flight tomorrow morning but here behind the gates at spaceport america, it's really a bevy of activity. trucks coming in, people milling about. all in anticipation of tomorrow's flight. take a listen, fred. the countdown is on. in just hours, entrepreneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self-funded rocket into suborbital space. >> richard branson. >> reporter: a launch nearly two decades in the making. >> tell me, how do you feel? >> well, i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we started building spaceships and mother ships and spaceports, all these things. i finally got the call from chief engineer saying that every single box are being ticked on the safety aspe

. >> cnn's rachel crane is live in new mexico this morning. 's a big heat wave out west. is there any indication that that weather might play a role in this launch? >> reporter: boris, i can tell you right now, it is pretty hot here at space port america in new mexico. but luckily, the weather specifications for this flight don't really surround heat. it's more about wind. the crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, you know, this is actually taking off from a very large, like, aircraft. it's theoretically a rocket-powered space plane, for lack of a better description. the spaceship, the uss unity, is made into the mothership, eve, and it travels around 40,000 feet in the air before the rocket-powered space plane is released. that's when the rocket engine will blast it off to the edge of the space, and the space flight participants, including richard branson and the two pilots, they will experience a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to earth. right now, all systems are a go here at space port america. yesterday, it was a bevy of acti

. >> cnn's rachel crane is live for us in new mexico this morning. well. >> reporter: that's right, boris. i mean, this first flight of richard branson, also jeff bezos' suborbital flight that's coming up on july 20th, the first flight of new shepard really signals a new era of spaceflight because it's ushering space tourism, democratizing space. you know what they say, wealthy citizens, albeit average wealthy citizens to travel to space. right now, virgin galactic has sold around 600 tickets. each of those, boris, is around $200,000. let me tell you where we are. we're at space port america. this is where richard branson and the two space pilots will take off. in a little over 24 hours from now. it's been a bevy of activity. we were actually behind the gates and they had buses and tents being erected and fences, jumbotrons. you know, it's important to remember there's this spaceflight event but there's also in typical richard branson fashion the event around the event. there's going to be musical performances tomorrow. stephen colbert will be hostin

. >> rachel crane has had a front seat on all of this. rachel, what does he mean?t is the next step? what happens now? >> reporter: what happens immediately is celebration and ticket sales. i was just out at the landing pad with bezos himself and his fellow passengers, and they were basking in the glory of that booster that made that, you know, incredible landing. now, that was the third time that that booster has been used after today's successful flight. but back to those ticket sales, i mean we still don't know how much these are going to cost, but we do know that blue origin already has two flights lined up and paid for in 2021 alone. now, the company hoping to increase the pace of these flights, but today's flight was really a dream come true for blue origin's founder, jeff bezos, mark bezos, oliver, but no one more so than wally funk. 82-year-old wally funk, breaking john glen's record of being the oldest person in space. she trained to be an astronaut back in the '60s, part of the mercury 13, but she was never given the opportunity to fly because of her gend

cnn's rachel crane live in new mexico near where this launch happened. rachel? was 17 years in the making. and a dream come true for branson. delay after delay and a fatal crash back in 2014 led skeptics to doubt whether or not this flight would ever take off, but luckily for branson and space enthusiasts around the globe this test flight was described as flawless. take a listen. >> reporter: a historic flight nearly two decades in the making. billionaire richard branson becoming the first person to take a trip on a self-funded spacecraft. >> release release release. >> reporter: captured and broadcast on live stream all taking place in about an hour. virgin galactic ship rocketing 50 miles above earth, high enough to experience weightlessness. >> the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do. >> reporter: branson and his crew safely returning to earth, celebrating their mission accomplished. >> ladies and gentlemen, this here is sir richard branson, astronaut. >> reporter: i spoke to the 70-year-old after the successful landin

richard branson is with our rachel crane right now.rld has a few new astronauts, and i happen to be standing with two of them. sharicia and richard branson. you just fulfilled a lifelong dream. i know you said earlier you couldn't find the words to describe it, but you have been back on earth for a couple hours. tell us, what was the experience like for you? >> i dreamt of going to space since i was a kid. i have always pictured what it would be like. and it was just far more extraordinary than i could ever, ever imagine. from going north of 3,000 miles an hour in 7 or 8 seconds, being pressed back into the seat, the roar of the rocket, to arriving in space and the silence. and, you know, to looking out of the window, to seeing our glorious, glorious colors of the sky. to unbuckling and floating, just literally lifting, going off to the ceiling and floating, looking back down on these big windows, now the spaceship is upside down, facing back down to the earth. seeing these three float around underneath me like giant fish. get out of m

. >> cnn's rachel crane was at the launch and spoke to branson after his historic journey. >> richard, you just fulfilled a life-long dream. and i know you said earlier you couldn't find the words to describe it but you've been back on earth for a couple of hours. tell us. what was this experience like for you? >> look, i've dreamt of going to space since i was a kid. i've always pictured what it would be like. and it was just far more extraordinary than i could ever have imagined from the -- from going 0 to 3,000 miles an hour in seven or eight seconds, being pressed back into the seat. the roar of the rocket to arriving in space and the sil silence. you know, to looking out of the window, seeing our glorious, glorious -- the colors of the sky, to unbuckling and floating just literally lifting -- just going off to the ceiling and floating, looking back down and these big windows, now the spaceship is upside down facing back down to the earth. seeing these three float around underneath me like giant fish. get out of my way. i want to see the earth. >> you have long spoken about the ov

rachel crane has more on that. >> reporter: the countdown is on. and in just hours, entrepreneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self-funded rocket into su suborbital space. >> astronaut 001, richard branson. >> reporter: a launch, nearly two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel? >> um, well, i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years, since we've started building spaceships and mother ships and space bots and all these things. and i finally got the call from our chief engineer saying that every single box had been ticked on the safety aspect. and that i was -- um -- um -- would i like to go to space? and i hit -- i hit the roof, i was so excited. >> reporter: the virgin galactic rocket-powered space plane is set to take off sunday from new mexico. the mother ship will release the s spaceship at around 40,000 feet. the rocket will ignite and take branson, two pilots, and three others on a 2,400-mile-per-hour ride, more than 50 miles up to touch the inner edge of space, as defined by the u.s. military and n

he beat out fellow billionaires and rachel crane spoke with branson about this. she's with us now. ys away from this hotly anticipated space flight. and nobody is more excited than branson himself. now, this is a flight that is nearly two decades in the making that's because branson bought the technology to spaceship one back in 2004. spaceship one was the winner of the x prize which challenged non-government entity to fly to space twice in two week. he bought that technology in 2004 and since then spent over a billion dollars on this program, hundreds of engineers have innovated on spaceship one to create spaceship two. you see a mockup behind me. branson just days away from taking flight very excited. take a listen to what he had to say. okay. richard, you are finally going to space in a matter of days. tell me, how do you feel? >> well, i've managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we started building spaceships and motherships and space boards and all these things. and had to get through the test programs and then yesterday i finally got the call from chief engineers

let's go to rachel crane, cnn's space and innovation correspondent who has been covering this beat for years and knows it better than anybody. rachel, you've been waiting and looking to the sky. at this point there's nothing for us to see. we do hope to have live pictures in a few minutes, however. can you talk us through the nex five minutes and what actually happens? >> reporter: i want you to know that here on the ground we actually just got live images of branson inside the cabin with his fellow specialists. it was incredible to see him in vss unity about to make this historic blastoff for him and his crew. as you said, i've been following this for years, so seeing live images of him making this flight, two decades in the m making for him and his team, you were able to see a very close-up image of his face as well as a wider cabin view of the other additional three mission specialists that are on board. i want to remind our audience of where they are. they are about 40,000 feet above the ground. we were actually able to see the vehicle circle above us. it's incredible to see people

cnn's rachel crane has the latest on this new leg in the space race. >> reporter: the countdown is one the first person to ride a self-funded rocket into suborbital space. >> astronaut 001, richard branson. >> reporter: a launch, nearly-two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel? >> um, well, i've managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we've started building spaceships and mother ships and space ports and all these things. and i finally got the call from chief engineer saying that every single box had been ticked on the safety aspect. and that i was -- um -- um -- would i like to go to space? and i hit -- i hit the roof, i was so excited. >> reporter: the virgin galactic rocket-powered space plane is set to take off tomorrow from new mexico. the mother ship will release the spaceship at around 40,000 feet. the rocket will ignite. and take branson, two pilots, and three others, on a 2,400-mile-per-hour ride, more than 50 miles up to touch the inner edge of space, as defined by the u.s. military and nasa. the crew will experience a few minutes of weightlessness, be

joining us now to discuss from new mexico is cnn innovation and space correspondent rachel crane. rachel, the astronauts have just touched down after the historic virgin galactic flight. sum it up for us. >> reporter: that's right, jake. i'm just a few hundreds yards away from "unity" right now. hopefully we'll see richard branson and hear his emotion and what this experience was like, after he took his historic space flight for him and his team. everyone has been pegging this as the billionaire space race. today richard branson -- they got to where they wanted to go. it was a sub orbital flight. richard branson passed the 50-mile mark and will receive his astronaut wings. that's a ceremony we'll see in a few moments, him and two additional mission specialists on board. they'll be receiving their astronaut wings today. blue origin, their direct competitor in the suborbital space, they're set to make their first cruewed flight on july 20th. i wanted to point out blue origin has brand goals. they're interested in going to the moon and beyond. yes, while in the sub orbital space they'

america which is the site of the virgin galactic launch is cnn innovation and space correspondent rachel craneright now. >> that's right, jake. this is certainly a launch like i've never been to. and did i get a sense of jealousy in your voice there? you wishing you were in my place? this is a pretty cool assignment because in typical branson fashion, it's not just about the space flight but also about the event and spectacle surrounding it. so we have a musical performance that's set to happen upon landing. tons of vips on site. as you can see, a large crowd behind me. we just saw the soon-to-be astronauts walk out of the hangar, get into their vehicles, head out to the runway. soon they'll be boarding their vehicle. now the vss unity which will transport them to space hais mad to the mother ship eve set to take off in about an hour. vss unity will be released from eve. it will be in free-fall for a few seconds before that rocket motor ignites. shooting them off to space. the mission specialist on board, they'll experience about three gs before they have about four minutes of precious weightl

. >> and that was cnn's rachel crane describing the moment virgin galactic's super sonic space plain, unity, detached from the mother ship. early sunday, the founder and five other members flew 50 miles up to the edge of space, experiencing weightlessness for a few minutes before returning safely back to earth. it is a land mark moment for the space tourism industry. branson is the first billionaire to travel to space aboard his own company spacecraft. cnn's kristen fisher was at space port america in new mexico and has more on the launch. >> reporter: this is a big deal, because it was the first time in human history that someone has funded and built a spacecraft and then flown that spacecraft into space. so richard branson celebrating a successful test flight of virgin galactic's spaceship two unity. it all started right here at space port america, in truth or consequences, new mexico on sunday morning, taking off, attached to mother ship eve. at the right altitude, it detached and the pilots ignited that rocket engine and those six astronauts, or soon-to-be astronauts blasted into

cnn's rachel crane is here with this story.oliver damon, who is the lucky winner here of this historic seat on new shepherd's first crewed flight in january 2022. he's from the netherlands. we know that his father joe damon actually bought him this seat to be on this flight saying that it's a lifelong dream of oliver to become an astronaut. he's been studying to become a pilot but that he has always dreamed of going to space. take a listen. >> i'll become the youngest astronaut ever because i'm 18 years old. i'm super excited to experience this and so the world from above. thank you so much for the people of blue origin for making this happen. thank you. >> now, victor and alisyn, oliver is set to join jeff bezos, jeff's brother mark bezos and aerospace legend wally funk on this historic funk. wally funk will become the oldest person in space at the age of 82, so very interesting that on this flight you'll have the oldest and the youngest person ever to travel into space. also, interesting to point out that oliver was not the o

rachel crane is live at launch site one. rachel. >> john and brie aanna, a very exciting day. the rocket is vertical on the launch pad, and just any moment now, they should begin the fueling process. now, blue origin likes to say this rocket runs on water. that's because the propellant they use is liquid oxygen and hy hydrogen. we know the astronauts should be on site in about an hour. jeff bezos telling me this morning, they will go through refreshing training in the launch center before heading out to the launch center 45 minutes before scheduled 9:00 a.m. eastern takeoff. the question on everyone's mind is jeff bezos crazy. how safe is this a vehicle. a reminder that this vehicle has never flown humans before. they have had 15 successful test launches but no humans have been on board. that's the historic first here today. i had the opportunity to speak with gary leahy, a former nasa employee. they call him the architect of new shepherd, about the safety of this vehicle, and he told me he thinks it is the safest capsule and vehicle ever made for man's space flight that he wo

rachel crane is live in new mexico where the launch will take place. rk? >> reporter: well, alisyn, i got to tell you, i'm pretty pumped right now because i am behind the gates here at space port america. this is a location that the space flight will take off on sunday morning, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. local, and from our mass cam, you guys can see the runway that this rocket-powered space plane will be taking off from. that is a 12,000-foot runway that you are looking at, and that is also where the rocket-powered space plane will land as well as its mothership, named eve. she will also be landing on this runway. and here at the facility, i mean, it is a bevy of activity. tents are being erected, hundreds of people are on location. engineers checking all the systems, making sure that the space flight itself but also the event surrounding the space flight goes off without a hitch. you know, thousands of people are flocking to las cruzes for this event. the city saying it should generate nearly $400,000 in revenue just this week, and ton

rachel crane reporting on the breathtaking moment when the supersonic space plane separated from the mother ship eve. >> reporter: you can hear the crowd cheering behind me. this is that historic moment that richard branson and his team at virgin galactic have been waiting for for nearly two decades. we have release, brian. we have release. the rocket engine has ignited. this is the moment that branson and his team have been waiting for. i've got to pause. i've got to take this in. this is really an incredible moment here. >> we all took it in. in this hour-long journey, and a few minutes of weightlessness, the journey, the mission to get here was decades in the making. not only did branson make this happen, but he in spectacular fashion brought all of us along with him and making sure we could see and hear from him while it was happening. >> -- one day you'll get to experience it. it's a complete experience of a lifetime. now i'm looking down. congratulations to everybody for creating such a beautiful, beautiful place. congratulations to all of our wonderful team at virgin galactic,

rachel crane spoke to branson about his ground breaking stoig. >> reporter: this flight was nearly two decades in the making and the company saying richard branson's maiden flight was flawless. and noble more excited than richard branson himself. i had the opportunity to speak with him about the excitement and the energy of it. take a listen. >> i've dreamt of going into space since i was a kid. i've always pictured what it would be like. it was far more extraordinary than i could ever imagine. going going north to three three miles an hour to being pressed back in the seat. the roar of the rocket to riding in space and the silence. and to looking out the window, to seeing our glorious, glorious, the colors of the sky, to unbuckling and floating, just literally going off to the ceiling and floating. looking back down in these big windows, now the spaceship is upside down facing the earth. seeing these three float around underneath me like giant fish. get out of my way! i want to see the earth! and then of course, when we came back into the earth's atmosphere, the shuddering as the spac

rachel crane is live in los angeles with more. good morning, rachel. all right.on? >> well, poppy, this announcement from virgin galactic is a stark departure from what the company was maintaining just a month ago. now, this-upcoming test space flight was supposed to be just for mission specialists and branson was going to be on the flight, following that one. however -- and that was something the company maintained just a month ago. however, that was before bezos, himself, announced that he would be on his space company, blue origin's, first suborbital flight to space on their new shepherd system. as you pointed out, that flight is scheduled for july 20th. just nine days following the announcement of when this virgin galactic flight will take off. um, but, you know, it might not just be egos here and the desire to be the historic-first billionaire in space, that is a reason for this update to the flight manifest. the faa, just last week, granted virgin galactic a new license to fly space-flight participants. so, prior to this updated license, the company had onl

rachel crane is with us now. i can get an uber at my house, rachel, but he'll get a rocket launch.ow is he feeling? >> reporter: brianna, that's right. you know, we're approaching that 24-hour mark here before bezos and his crew make this historic flight. they've been on the ground here in west texas, going through their training. the last few days they're wearing their space suits. as you can imagine, brianna, they are pretty excited. take a listen. this journey to space is a dream come true for all of you. so tell me -- jeff, kick it off with you, how are you all feeling right now? >> excited. i'm so excited and curious. you know, everybody who has been to space, every astronaut comes back and they say that it changed them somehow. they see the thin limb of the earth's atmosphere and realize how fragile the earth is. they see it's just one planet. so i don't know how it's going to change me, but i know it's going to. and i'm excited to find out how. >> reporter: and wally, did you ever think thau would be traveling to space with someone that can't even buy a beer? >> actually, so

and cnn's coverage begins with rachel crane at the launch site. >> reporter: this flight is a dream come and his fellow crewmates, telling me that he is incredibly curious to know how the flight will change him saying that he knows that it will change him, but he doesn't know how. that is in reference to the overview effect, 500 people roughly have traveled to space, and they all have spoken of this overview effect, what happens to you when you see the earth from above without borders and the vulnerability of our planet. but a lot of people have been critical of these flights. that is because of the price tag. one person paying $28 million to secure a seat at auction for a new shepherd flight. and that seat is filled by oliver daemen taking place of the auction winner because the winner had a scheduling conflict. but these flights are incredibly expensive, so a lot of people have been critical of that. i had an opportunity to speak to bezos about it. take a listen. there have been a chorus of critics saying that these are just joy rides for the wealthy and that you should be spending you

>> all right, rachel crane, thank you so much.his with retired astronaut and is now an adviser for spacex which is the private company owned by billionaire elon musk. you met wally funk, the 82-year-old aviator. what was your reaction after watching today's successful launch and landing? >> she was a real hoot. i think any of you that watched the coverage today know that. she came to spacex. and i gave former tours to actors and rockstars and they were all there to satisfy their curiosity, but wally came with a mission. she was just interested in getting to space. that was what it was all about. she showed up in her flight suit. i'll never forget her visit. it left quite an impression. >> team bezos went just beyond what's internationally considered the edge of space. richard branson reached what the u.s. considers the beginning of outer space. now in september, spacex, which you're a part of, will take a flight beyond earth's orbit. yes, you work for spacex, but we should note that there is a difference in the distances of these

. >> rachel crane has more. >> reporter: the countdown is on.preneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self--funded rocket into suborbital space. >> astronaut, zero zero 1, richard branson. >> a launch two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel. >> i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we started building space ships and mother ships and space ports and all these things. i finally got the call from the chief engineer saying every box had been tick the on the safety aspect and would i like to go to space? and i hit -- i hit the roof. i was to excited. >> the virgin galactic rocket powered space plane is set to take oev tomorrow from new mexico. the mother ship will release the is a spaceship at 40,000 feet. the rocket will ignite taking bransonen you a pilots and two others and the ride more than 50 miles up to touch the inner edge of space as defined by the u.s. military and nasa. the crew will speerns a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to earth. >> when you're up there, the spac

rachel crane joins us from launch site one in texas where the launch happens tomorrow.say about the flight? >> reporter: this is a dream come true for all of them. bezos is incredibly excited about this upcoming journey. he said he is quite curious about how it will impact him. only around 500 people have ever traveled to space. they speak of how the journey fundamentally changes how they see our planet. seeing the vulnerabilities, seeing it from above without borders. be bezos very curious how it will impact him. joining him is his brother and wally funk and oliver damion who is only 18 years old be p he is taking the auction winning. a scheduling conflict has come up and that's why oliver has moved up to this flight. the price tag, $28 million is what a lot of critics are taking issue with. the price tag of these sub orbital journeys to space. i had the opportunity to speak with bezos about that criticism. take a listen to what he had to say. >> jeff, there's been a chorus of critics saying the flights to space are just joyrides for the wealthy and you should spend yo

cnn's rachel crane has the latest on this new frontier in the space race. >> reporter: pam, optically it certainly does look like a space race. i've spoken with richard branson recently, he told me he and his team at virgin galactic do not see this as a race, and the updated timeline was as a result of faa regulations that were revised to allow them to fly. then they had a perfect test flight which, they say, allowed them to leapfrog jeff bezos who is scheduled to fly on his orbiter on july 20. they maintain it's not a race but certainly from the outside it does look like one. pam, let me tell you about being on the ground here at spaceport america. yesterday we were behind the gates. it's a flurry of activity, setting up tents, buses coming in, fences being erected. there is the spectacle of the space flight and also the event surrounding the space flight. in typical richard branson fashion, he's making this a huge event. lots of vips coming to witness the space flight. they're having musical performances. stephen colbert is hosting the webcast of the space flight. today the crew is

but as cnn's rachel crane explains, branson believes the risk is worth the reward. >> reporter: the countdown is on. in just hours entrepreneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self-funded rocket into suborbital space. >> astronaut 001 richard branson. >> reporter: a launch nearly two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel? >> well, i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we started building spaceships and mother ships and space ports and all these things. i finally got the call from our chief engineer saying every single box had been checked on the safety aspect and that would i like to go to space. and i hit the roof. i was so excited. >> reporter: the virgin galactic rocket powered space plane is set to take off sunday from new mexico. the mother ship will release the spaceship around 40,000 feet. the rocket will ignite and take branson, two pilots and three others on a 2,400-mile-per-hour ride to touch the inner edge of space as defined by the u.s. military and nasa. the crew will experience a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding ba

for more let's go to cnn's rachel crane at the virgin galactic space port in new mexico. >> christineura, richard branson's maiden space flight went off without a hitch. the company saying it was a complete success, and nobody more excited about that than richard branson himself. i had the opportunity to speak with the company's founder and new astronaut shortly following this space flight. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i've dreamt of going into space since i was a kid. i've always pictured what it would be like, and it was just far more extraordinary than i could have ever imagined. i would go back tomorrow if i didn't feel i was taking a seat away from the many hundreds of people who have already signed to go up and the many hundreds of people who will want to sign up. >> luckily for branson, the other mission specialists on board and really space enthusiasts all around the globe, this was not a dream. this was a reality. the company hopes this could help usher in a new era of space tourism where regular folks like myself and you guys could one day travel to space and enjo

. >> thanks to rachel crane. >>> soaring home sales are pricing many out of the market.ford to live in the district he represents. stay with us. this may look like a regular movie night. but if you're a kid with diabetes, it's more. it's the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. ♪ ♪ ♪ water? urgh! (rocket ship) hey! hey! heads up. thank you! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio the harry's razor is not the same. our razors have five german engineered blades designed to stay sharp, so your eighth shave is as smooth as your first. and we never upcharge you for high quality. harry's. available in store and at harrys.com. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ centrum multigummies aren't just great tasting... they're power-packed vitamins... that help unleash your energy. loaded with b vitamins... ...and other key essential nutrients... ...it's a tasty way to conquer your day. try centrum multi gummies. now wi

. >> brad, i thought it was interested in the interview that our rachel crane did with the crew of four now astronauts, including jeff bezos yesterday morning. she asked bezos about the criticism that many have hurled at him and branson and said this is just a joy ride for the rich, should you be using your resources more for crises on planet earth right now and he said you can do both. but he accepted that criticism. and said that is largely true. i wonder what you make of that? >> right. well let's put ourselves in jeff bezos's shoes. he's been criticized for two decades, he's generally been proven right with his business decisions at amazon. and so he's kind of supremely confident and i don't think he pays much attention to the criticism. his answer is basically you can do both. >> right. >> and he's committed $10 billion to fighting climate change and a couple of billion for early childhood education, but this is his dream and he has a $200 billion fortune and no one is going to tell him what to do with his money. >> thank you so much for helping us understand the story behind this.

. >> rachel crane joins us from the launch in new mexico. a little delay this morning due to weather. what else do you expect in the next hour? >> reporter: that's right. that is typical of space launches. i have never been to a space launch that has taken off on schedule. it was overnight winds that delayed the vehicles from coming out of the hangar. right now, the vehicles are on the runway. we are only a couple of hours away from this hotly anticipated space flight. about an hour before that scheduled takeoff, that's when we will see the astronauts, including sir richard branson -- or the soon to be astronauts, i should say, come out of the building, the hangar behind me. 40 minutes prior to the scheduled takeoff, they will board the vehicle and they will drive out there in some l land landrovers. 40 minutes after takeoff, that's when the mother ship will release spaceship 2. it will be in freef fall. it will blast off. it will be a 60-second burn. the passengers on board will experience about 3g. after that, the motor will cut and they w

rachel crane is cnn business inknovation and creative correspondent about that mission. >> reporter:onaire race to space from the outside, richard branson says he doesn't see this as a ris. a successful test flight just six weeks ago allowed virgin ga l -- galactic to fly space parti participants. branson will be joining three mission specialists in addition to two pilots on this fourth space flight for the company. they will travel more than three times the speed of sound. >> our jieapologies to rachel there. we're joining president biden at a naturalization ceremony at the white house for the soon to be u.s. citizens. we just heard from our reporters that this is a big push of the biden administration that he wants to get as many eligible immigrants naturalized as possible. ♪ oh say can you see ♪ ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed ♪ ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ ♪ through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ or this ramparts we watches ♪ ♪ were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ and the rockets red glare ♪ ♪ the bombs bursting in air

joining me now my colleagues rachel crane, space correspondent, and crystal fisher, space and defense correspondent. it's really exciting. i mean, this is not just about the kind of rise of space tourism which we've seen with richard branson, but also a whole new chapter in space exploration. >> you're right, anderson. the whole motto the blue origin step-by-step ferociously. the capsule is rss first step, that stands for reusable space ship first step. this is the first step in their grander space missions, colonizing the moon and beyond. bezos has had these grand ideas of o'neil colonies out in space. they think the new shepherd program and the suborbital journeys is the first step for the company to create the infrastructure to be able to get to those deeper space missions and reuse ability is key to that. the system that we're seeing fly today, this will be the third flight for the system. but gary lay, who is the architect of new shepherd, he told me yesterday they expect to be able to fly the system 25 times. so before, missions of the past, it was one and done. >> right. >> it