you had other jobs in the interim there before you left nasa? >> oh, yeah, sure, and part of it was in the development of that neutral buoyancy simulator. i really by that time became enamored of -- of the people and the idea involved in living under water. and that was my new love. >> and do you see a relationship between the things you discovered under water and the things you discovered in the ocean of space? >> there are many, many similarities. in the training and in the environment, "isolation and confinement." and the people, the people are similar. although navy and civilian deep-sea divers are not as highly educated by and large as -- as the heroic spacemen are. they are the greatest bunch of unsung heroes i've ever known. and the other thing that gives me an affection for the whole idea and the people and the science is the fact that these navy and civilian divers put their lives on the line for the benefit of new science and for at that time national security just as surely as the heroic spacemen do, but nobody cares a whit about thes

would you change any of nasa's current practices in selecting, training, and assigning space crews? >> well, you know, that's a very difficult question for me to answer because i'm not involved in the process anymore. i think one has to look at the flights which are being made, at the performance of the crews. the number of delays because of mechanical problems and that sort of thing and using these criteria i would say they're running a good ship. i would say they're running a successful program. there have been obviously no areas which have resulted in loss of life. they have used the crew to control many, correct many problems, remarkable repair of the hubbell telescope. of course, that was some years ago but these are the kind of things which indicate to me they're doing a pretty good job. >> i'm thinking now i can't remember a single case of disaster occasioned by pilot error, which speaks well for the group doesn't it? >> yes. >> of course now they're into the broad gamut of flight crews, women, scientists, pay load specialists. >> when you consider the fact you're still -- we

facilities such as nasa ames. but there are exceptions. >> we welcome anybody who wants to have a place on the nasa research park, use the air field, who do two things. have nasa alignment to one of our missions and is financially solvent. >> reporter: in other words, private planes like the fleet owned by h-211 and principals at google, parked inside this taxpayer-owned hangar, must be used for scientific research. how much scientific research is not specified. some will say, that's an excuse in order for google or h-211 to park private planes here. >> an expensive agreement, then. it's aligned with requirements, data we couldn't otherwise collect, and we are very proud of that alignment. we're very proud of the relationship that has worked thus far since 2007. >> reporter: make no mistake, there is science being done here with the help of these private planes. >> we can take measurements over and over again. >> reporter: dr. arachi is the science lead for nasa. >> having a long-term weather base over different s

he became the new nasa administrator. you can imagine that because he was so involved in this cost control and situation and had helped proposed some of the steps we would be taking that he was very focused, knowing that in 2003 they would make this decision and really trying to get to this launched in february 2004. there was a screen saver sent around to all of the managers. it was a countdown to february 2004. this made a lot of people very nervous. many of the people who were working on the shuttle program in 2002 had actually been working on the shuttle program in 1986 when the challenger accident occurred. although there were technical reasons that were the root cause of that accident, there were a lot of organizational problems that contributed to that. back to this council meeting -- we were given a management role. we spent the majority of the meeting talking about the schedule. a person stood up and mentioned that they wanted to be briefed on the launch. talk about how we lost 90 days of schedule in the last six

and i think that it's probably nasa's finest hour, when you think about it. i think that certainly from a pilot's point of view, it was just as an important event as stepping on the moon on "apollo 11." >> you had the next flight. did you approach it with fear, trepidation, or did you approach it with the knowledge that you probably were going to make a pretty good flight out of it thanks to what had been learned from "apollo 13." which way was it? >> well, i think that people have -- i know people have expressed the opinion that it might have been a little bit more dangerous to fly on "apollo 14" than it would have been had there not been "apollo 13." but recognize that almost a total redesign had to be done. well, not necessarily redesign, but a total reassessment of the package had to be done, to find out specifically why the thing blew and to fix that, to look for similar situations throughout the service module. but, again, to reassess the whole scheme of things. you know, in missions like that, when you're in basic research, there are always decisions a

has retired nasa's space shuttle fleet, a private company will for the first time fly a nasa mission to resupply the international space station. here's nbc's tom costello. >> if all goes as planned, the rocket sitting on pad 40 at cape canaveral will forever change the way nasa does business. spacex is the first private company ever selected to carry nasa cargo. >> private spacecraft to come back from orbit. >> the man who runs spacex is south african born elon musk. >> this looks remarkably similar to the "apollo." >> they're sort of -- have this gumdrop shape. >> if his name sounds familiar -- >> i am ironman. >> he was the inspiration for the tony stark character in the ironman movies. but while tony stark's passion was robots and weapons, elon musk has always been passionate about space. today, the ironman costume stands on the floor at spacex headquarters in los angeles. so you're ironman? >> well, i am ironman in certain respects. >> a billionaire entrepreneur and inventor who founded paypal and the electric car company tesla motors, musk has built spacex from the ground up, a

>> i remember a very effective representative for nasa in washington. he did everything required and then some. >> how about chris craft? >> chris was effective as mission director, and he was control center boss for a long time. and he -- he was dedicated and served nasa for a long time in the control center, and he even became director of the manned spacecraft center for a while i think later. >> of the guiding lights of that time was chuck matthews. do you remember chuck? >> not as well as chris and some of these other fellows you mentioned. >> he was aboard at the time of "mercury" but basically became mr. gemini. all right. let's move on. what are some of your favorite anecdotes, things you might remember during the years you spent in the space program? strangest, funniest, that thing? >> they're all unmentionable. >> every one? there must be one you can dredge out of your memory that can be retold. >> well, there was one episode when john and i were racing in his convertible for friendship airport. we were late for the airplane going to i think st

you've talked some about nasa managers. for example, tim webb. >> it was interesting being involved with the old naca and then the nasa during the formation periods because naca obviously was a group of engineers basically. they didn't have a political type administrator. but when webb came along, i mean what a fresh breath he was. he knew all the ins and outs of play. not that he was a lobbyist in any sense of the imagination, he didn't have to be. he had a great package. men in space. and he played it well. he really did. he did us a great favor, certainly responding so quickly and so rapidly to kennedy's really surprising decision to go to the moon. he did a good job. jim did a good job. as i said before, i came to him with a technical request, not turned down. at least he had some engineering knowledge there somewhere. >> speaking of engineering knowledge, let's take bob gill breath. >> i like bob, i really did. bob had been in the aviation business forever. been right there at langley seeing him, not every day, but see

and this was all with nasa's blessing, because the nasa engineers were there, as well. but primarily from a pilot's point of view, is this handle in the right place. if you have a switch, which you have to use to counteract an emergency, is it reachable, is it visible, or do you have to go behind your back somewhere to find the darn thing? primarily, from a pilot's point of view, was our interface. >> then, finally, you wound up being the first man to fly in a mercury spacecraft. did you know that was coming, or was it a surprise? can you describe your steps that led up to it? >> we had been in training for probably 20 months or so. toward the end of 1960, early '61, when we all intuitively felt that pretty soon, bob giroth had to make a decision as to who was going to make the first flight. and when we received word that bob wanted to see us at 5:00 in the afternoon one day in our office, sort of felt that perhaps he had decided. there were seven of us then in one office. we had seven desks around in the hangar in langley field. and bob walked in, closed the door, and

nasa has nasa has been there done that. it is dangerous, but we understand the dangers and we can quantify them. sure, would nasa pay a private enterprise to take us to the space station? i don't have a problem with that. let private and enterprise take tourists into orbit. i don't have a problem with that. let it happen. we live in a free market society. free markets should go where ever an investment pays a return. if that includes space, good. but it will never be the frontier of space that will always need to be reserved for the wisdom of government. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> hello, two-part question based on my trip to huntsville. one is the saturn five is awesome, but the stuff they are talking about, where they can go and what they can do, that is really awesome. what happened to all that stuff that was happening and fell apart. >> why did we stop dreaming? >> yes. parts you, my son will be 19 this month and he's getting your book. he has spent 10 years in math and physics, he's talented and good at it. but

nasa had a big press conference. suffice it to say that it really got astor biology up and going because many scientists ultimately concluded that the buyer messages could have been -- could have come from different sources, something other than biology. so it started something really big, but it is not necessarily the answer. but, look at this. when you think about it, this is a chart of what aster biology is. it is the most interdisciplinary of all fields. it goes from microbiology to all the way to cosmology and everything in between, geology and whatever. and you have now thousands of people around the world who, again, top scientists who are using this as an organizing been and i have been to a couple of astra biology conferences around the world, mostly in the u.s., and frequently they have five, six, 7,000 people. it is real. and here is after spending two and a half, three years talking to scientists about it, this kind of logic that i came up with. and, again, this was more a reflection of what they told me.

nasa is being treated very well. nasa is basically being flat- lined. >> reporter: so the agency is left with orion and an under- funded idea for a big rocket that could take humans to mars, but no concrete plans to do so. when-- or if-- it will ever fly is anyone's guess. what is nasa's goal right now? do we know? >> that's a very good question. i think that's the fundamental problem. i think, for the first time in the space agency's history, its mission is very uncertain. there is no clear direction. >> reporter: which brings us back to spacex, and the launch pad right next to the place where the shuttles left earth for the three decades. it is a lean, clean operation, filled with a lot of people like launch engineer mike sheehan, the boss at the tender age of 28. >> is this all useable? >> yes. >> this will be fished out of the lat tan tick? >> this one won't, no. >> but in the future it will. is that the plan or... >> yes, yes. >> reporter: its not unlike nasa in the 1960s. could this be a changing of the old gua

nasa. an approach that was adopted by the house in the february, 2011, -- during consideration of that. although we do not in any way oppose the work of nasa that is funded through this offsetting account, we are determined to offer a budget-neutral amendment and to give the house an opportunity to work for robust funding for cops in an eventual conference with the senate. in this tough economic time, our officers understand the need for sacrifices and for cutbacks. however, during these trying timets, we often see increases -- times, we often see increases in crime. therefore i feel and my colleagues agree that it's essential that law enforcement agencies across the nation have the necessary resources to protect the american people. i encourage strong support for the grimm-pierluisi-king-pascrell amendment and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from puerto rico rise? the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. m

mean nasa. nasa is committed to launching american astronauts from american soil on spacecraft built by american companies because we are a family. i don't even consider us a team. we are a family and that's really big to us. nasa's fy '13 budget provides the funding needed to bring our human space launches back home to the u.s. and get american companies transporting our astronauts once again. right now, we are looking at proposals for our commercial crew integrated capability initiative. with these proposals were asking industry to complete the design of a fully integrated commercial crew transportation system that consists of the spacecraft, launch vehicle, ground operations and mission control. these proposals are going to lead to spacex a grimace for initial development and bulletins our efforts to help nasa and the u.s. achieve safe, reliable, cost-effective human access to space. all of our commercial partners continue to work diligently and innovatively toward their milestones. brad -- s

there is no nasa team. it is people getting dragon together so an international crew could go to the international space station and further make history. that is a big deal. you can jump up and down here. opened view it will jump up and down and scream when it occurs in a few hours. we just set discovery to the smithsonian. we sent the enterprise to new york. it is awaiting its move from a tanker -- you must be from new york. are you really? hey. we are criticized for sending enterprise to your, by the way. people want to know what the new york have to do with space? i have to remind them periodically that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the return to earth from space during his mission. guess where he was picked up and brought back home? when people say what the new york have to do -- bethpage, l.i., new york. the uss intrepid pick up the american astronauts. maybe not, but i believe it was said to the state appropriately. private industry's control two or orbit is rapidly becoming a reality. we cont

nasa in the backseat, your thoughts in mcginty's mail bag. the address is mailbag@wusa9.com. >>> just about as difficult as getting into space, the annual plead climb up the monument at the naval academy. just ask dave owens about this. marking the end of freshman year by racing. that is greased with lard. this tradition started way back in topper's day, 1940. the goal to replace the hat at the top of a mid shipman, legend has it it will be the first person in the class to make admiral. >> one year ago today, a half mile wide tornado roared through joplin, missouri. its 200 mile an hour winds wiping out a third of the town and killing 161 people. the ef5 twister was the deadliest single tornado to hit the country in 60 years. today, that same community was marking the anniversary with a day of unity. people in joplin spent the whole last year rebuilding. businesses reopening, homes rebuilt, and today, the city gathered to break ground on a new elementary school. that's one of three new buildings that will replace the schools destroyed one yea

you had other jobs in the interim there before you left nasa? >> oh, yeah, sure, and part of it was in the development of that neutral buoyancy simulator. i really by that time became

got on with nasa. this is her second trip up, but we've got a girl in the left seat and that is just absolutely incredible. and this is going to show youngsters and young ladies that are going to see this particular program that you can do anything you want to do with your life, math, sciences, engineering, very important to stick with and have is as your personal goals. eileen's tenacity, her personal goals, her dedication has made it possible for you and i to come together and a lot of people from around the world to kol together. >> absolutely. it's fabulous. absolutely. before you got involved in the testing program, had you thought about even the possibility of going into space before? >> before i read about gerry cobb? didn't even know about it. it was not something we knew about. it was just as new as new. we didn't know what astronaut meant. >> so you just jumped into it -- >> absolutely. i knew that was for me. i wanted to go into exploration. i've always been sort of an explorer in my youth.

it's a lesson nasa had to learn the hard way. over the past 45 years, 17 nasa astronauts have died in three separate tragedies. >> one big concern is where there's a big private company takes the place of nasa might one day decide to put profits in front of safety. >> but they insist safety is important in big business. >> we never said let's make it cheaper and less reliable, not once. >> tonight, he's focused on the first unmanned commercial cargo mission to the space station. tom costello, nbc news, los angeles. >>> up next, we'll tell you the story of one of america's wounded warriors and a dramatic new mission opening soon at a theater near you. we take it a day at a time. that's how it is with alzheimer's disease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch, it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change how the disease progresses. hospitalization and rarely death hav

it will perform a series of practice ma enoughs before nasa -- maneuvers

the big question is will nasa be ready. nasa had their budget cut in half this past year. nothing is clear but spacex is certainly confident about its future, terrell. >> we'll certainly be watching. dick, thank you so much. >>> one year ago a massive and powerful tornado devastated the town of joplin. 160 people were killed, hundreds injured. today the town will break ground as through new schools including a high school. and the speaker at this year's graduation was the president of the united states. danielle nottingham reports. >> reporter: president obama didn't have to look far for motivation behind his commencement address for the joplin high school class of 2012. >> as i look out at this class and across this city, what's clear is that you're the source of inspiration today. >> reporter: it was may 22nd, 2011, when a half-mile wide f-5 tornado struck. when it was over, 7,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed around 161 people were dead, including quinton anderson's parents. >> i remember like it's still with me. >> reporter: anderson and his parents were in their

in the meantime nasa has bigger fish to fry. listen. >> i believe that this transition is very important for continuing that push outward into the solar system. once we get private enterprise and economic interest out to orbit there will be no turning back. >> other companies are also getting into the lower space game, shep. in fact, boeing plans its first flight sometime in the fall. >> shepard: all right, trace. thanks. a stunning site up there in space this weekend. a ring of fire. that's what astronomers are calling this rare solar eclipse. it happens, of course, when the moon passes in front of the sun but doesn't fully block it. it's been nearly two decades since the last one. folks from asia to the western united states will see the circle of light around the moon starting sunday evening. here's a look at the path of this eclipse. several states out west will get to catch the action or people in those states anyway. those of you in the eastern u.s. will have to settle for watching it all online. few watch that eclipse, ke

nasa will narrow down the competitors to one or two this summer. at its factory near los angeles, nasa and space-x have already invested more than $1 billion in the project. muck, a billionaire entrepreneur, founded space-x. >> people had legitimate concerns because there is no... there's no precedent for what we're doing here. we really at the dawn of a new era of space exploration and one where there's a much bigger role for commercial space companies. >> reporter: space-x hopes to launch its first manned test flight by 2015. scott, nasa says based on current budgets the earliest it would be able to certify the private space craft that's safe to fly astronauts would be 2017. >> pelley: later in the broadcast you're going to meet the man who has done what critics said was impossible, elon musk. >> this is a tricky business: i wish it wasn't so hard. >> pelley: history is about to be made in egypt as well. a country that has been run by pharaohs, kings and dictators will hold its first free presidential election tomorrow. it will mean a lot to amer

. >> for the first time a private business is getting involved in space missions with nasa. the spacex rocket launched from cape canaveral this morning, and it's heading to the international space station. dick brennan was there for the launch. glr. >> and launch of the spacex falcon 9 rocket. >> reporter: the rocket blasted off this morning from cape canaveral launching a new era in space travel. >> as nasa turns to the private sector to resupply the international space station. >> reporter: for the first time ever, a private spacecraft is on a supply mission to the international space station. >> what a spectacular start. it was just picture perfect. >> reporter: flight controllers celebrated the historic launch. >> degree men douse elation. it's -- tremendous elation. for us it's like winning the super bowl. >> reporter: with the shuttle fleet permanently grounded, spacex is one of several private companies competing for nasa contracts to carry cargo and eventually astronauts into space. the space capsule is carrying about a thousand pounds of mostly food and clothing. if

since they signed a lease agreement with nasa in 2011, nasa tells us there have been a total of 52 scientific flights. we did the math. we analyzed flight tracking data and found only 5% or less of the flights in and out were actually as a result of our investigation senator grassley, the ranking member on the judicialry committee is requesting that nasa provide all flight plans and passenger manifests for each flight originating and landing at moffit field in the last five years. our original investigation we talked to nasa ames associate director and posed similar questions to her as senator grassley is now posing to nasa's administrator. >> some would say, well, that's just an excuse in order for google or h-211 to park their private planes here. >> it's a pretty excuse for them then. our agreement is right now aligned with our airborne requirements, data that we couldn't otherwise collect. and we are very proud of that alignment. >> reporter: now in his letter right here senator grassley also said his office received allegations that google purchased jet fuel from the government at discou

>> their belief is nasa indeed has been among the chief people pushing the idea along. james hans is a very high level nasa scientists and the feeling of the astronauts is that the science is still open, it's not a settled question, and nasa shouldn't be leading the charge on this. >> in terms of what the astronauts say, some critics have been saying they make false claims in this letter that things are not exactly as they seem. really, it's a controversial issue, especially with other scientists saying that there obviously is man made global warming. >> that's one of the points, that there are scientists on both sides. hundreds of thousands on both sides debating this, and sort of the al gore side said this is settled, don't talk any more about it, start the regulations, do cap and trade. clearly other scientists are saying no, no, this isn't settled and it needs to be discussed and debated. there are probably much better solutions than chaining down the economy and doing the kind of regular lations we're talking about. >> what happens in nasa, for example, or in this

nasa has neverbuilt a rocket on its own. it's always had the private sector involved, whether it's lockheed martin or boeing or whatever the case may be. this is all about how you cut the deal. this is the contract that we're talking about. for years and years it was run like the pentagon: cost plus. there's no incentive for efficiencies when you do those kinds of contracts. this is a fixed-price deal. send it off to the private sector. maybe they can do it cheaper. >> now.... >> brown: it's still interesting to see the close coordination with nasa, right? and there's these two cultures at work. are they working together or is it... have they gone off in separate directions? >> they better because dragon is getting closer and closer to the international spas station. as it's getting closer it's going through a series of milestone tests to see if its abort system works, make sure it can go into free drift so it can be grabed by the space station robot arm. make sure its laser system, its range finder, is working well. this is

phil mcalester director of nasa commercial space flight development. congratulations. >> appreciate it. my pleasure. >> daniel stone, a historic day. right back here on friday. >> this is the bill press show. current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking

their mission from nasa is the same, resupply the space station. orbital has had less time and less money to get the job done. >> we've closed the gap with the spacex team. >> reporter: carl walsh has spent nearly 200 days on board the space station as a nasa astronaut. now he's helping develop orbital's antares rocket and the signal spacecraft that will sit on top. >> it's very exciting because we're developing something that has not been developed by the big government nasa before. >> reporter: this is orbital's mission control complex and this is where the cignes capsule will be controlled once it launches from a tear rest' -- a antares' rocket later in the year. orbital's aimed at space, but the payoffs are already being felt on earth with 2,000 jobs and counting in the d.c. area alone. >> i believe it's a good thing for the state of virginia and the whole economy around virginia because it really propels this area into the human spaceflight area. >> reporter: kristin fisher, 9 news now. >> pretty cool. the first test launch of orbital's antare

he was interviewed as part of the nasa johnson space center oral history project. this interview was conducted in 1999 by roy neil, long time nbc news reporter and correspondent who covered the american man space program. it is a little over 50 minutes. >> you were born here in colorado. anything in that background that left here becoming the -- led to becoming an astronaut? >> not that i can think of. >> from there you went down to low country, meaning the navy. right down to sea level. why navy? >> well i was a naval aviate. aviator. but how in the world i got an affection for the deep blue ocean, having grown up in the high country of colorado, i don't know. i've pondered that question a lot and can't answer it for you. >> there is an evolution there, nonetheless though, because i see in your background, test pilot school, intelligence schools. all of these that led up to your being selected as an astronaut. can you describe that training and how you think it might have played off into that eventual choice? >> curiosity is a thread that goes through all of my ac

nasa hanging its hopes on the mission now that the retired space shuttles are museum exhibits. john zerella is live in miami. i was watching you as it went into space. no glitches this time, right? >> reporter: no glitches, this is huge. you cannot understate how important this launch is. it paves the way for a whole new era in space flight. the white house releasing a statement saying it represents the potential for new era in american space flight. only four nations in the world have the capability and have ever actually rendezvoused and docked with the international space station. what spacex is attempting to do is to do pretty much just that. to send a spacecraft to the international space station and rendezvous, not dock in this case, but berth. the station's robotic arm will reach out, grab spacex's dragon capsule and pull it into the station. i talked with the ceo and founder of spacex about three weeks ago, and this is not just a test flight, his dragon capsule is actually carrying supplies. >> so we're going to be carrying about half a ton of supplies, it's going to be

nasa is set to launch space-x. it is set to take flight on saturday head for the international space station. joining us now from nasa headquarters here in wash is administrator charles bolden, a former space shuttle astronaut. charlie, good morning. >> good morning, care a how are you doing? >> i'm doing great. a lot of people were speculating with the shuttle program ending, they thought what is going to happen now. leerily, we are still making travel to space. give me an idea what kind of cargo we are taking up there and what the mission is behind this flight. >> we are incredibly busy and space-x is flying their final demonstration flight for us this coming saturday morning. once that is complete, they will be carrying everything from food, clothing, experiments and the like to the international space station for nasa for hire. we are really excite about it because they are also bringing jobs back to the cape canaveral cocoa beach area and that is what we promise the folk down there as we phase the shuttle prog