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This Year`s September 11 Memorial Ceremonies; Features From The Edge Of Space. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 13, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. We`re happy to see you this Monday and we hope you had a great weekend, for the United States it was a
weekend of remembrance. On the 20th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, which we covered in depth on Friday`s show, ceremonies,
prayer services, tributes, moments of silence, events like these were held all across the country.
Relatives of 9/11 victims reflected on their loved ones. Survivors shared their stories of the harrowing day. Communities displayed flags in honor of
the lives lost. It was a national observance of a tragedy that changed the country and like the attacks themselves, it brought together Americans from
all walks of life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At dawn the unfurling of a flag over the side of the Pentagon, hit by a jetliner 20 years ago signaled the beginning
of a day of tributes. It`s one of three sites where Americans gathered in somber remembrance, honoring each one of the 2,977 people killed in the
terrorist attacks on September 11th.
At the footprints where the Twin Towers proudly stood over lower Manhattan, President Biden and the First Lady were joined by the Obamas and a sea of
9/11 families to memorialize those lost two decades ago. At 8:46am, the first of six moments of silence marking the instant the first hi-jacked
airliner struck the North Tower. Mike Low`s daughter Sara (ph) was a flight attendant on that plane.
MIKE LOW, FATHER OF DAUGHTER FIGHT ATTENDANT ON PLANE THAT CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER: As we recite the names of those we lost, my memory goes
back to that terrible day when it felt like an evil specter had descended on our world. But it was also a time when many people acted above and
beyond the ordinary.
SANDOVAL: The tributes continued throughout the morning with the nation pausing five more times, the moment each Twin Tower fell, when the Pentagon
was attacked and the moment United Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is truly an honor to be with all of you at this field of honor.
SANDOVAL: Along with Vice-President Kamala Harris, President George W. Bush who served as commander-in-chief in 2001 help lead a memorial at that site.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The 33 passengers and seven crew of Flight 93 could have been any group of citizens selected
by fate. In a sense, they stood in for us all. The terrorists soon discovered that a random group of Americans is an exceptional group of
people.
SANDOVAL: And at the Pentagon, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs honored the victims of the attacks and the service members who died
at the subsequent war in Afghanistan.
GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEF OF STAFFS: Never forget those who were murdered by terrorists. Never forget those who rushed to save
their lives and gave theirs in exchange. Never forget the sons and the daughters, the brothers and sisters and the mothers and fathers who gave
their tomorrows for our todays.
SANDOVAL: The sky over lower Manhattan lights up again with the annual "Tribute in Light". It`s a reminder of the nations resilience and an iconic
symbol honoring those killed and the nation`s unbreakable spirit. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Who conducted the first spacewalk, which took place in 1965? Alan Shepherd, Yuri Gagarin, Ed White or Alexei Leonov. While Ed
White was the first American to do it. The first ever spacewalk was made by Soviet cosmonaut, Alexei Leonov.
According to space.com, Leonov originally thought he`d be a professional artist, but his success in the Soviet Air Force led to his selection for
cosmonaut training, and when he first stepped outside in space on March 18th, 1965, his government was supportive. His family was not. His father
yelled at what he thought was Leonov`s misbehavior and said he should be punished, and his daughter cried and said please tell Daddy to get back
inside.
Leonov said he faced a number of life threatening challenges doing that but he did get back to Earth safely. Less than three months later, astronaut Ed
White made America`s first spacewalk and four years after that, the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union culminated in the American moon
landing.
International space programs have come a long way since the 1960s`, but spacewalks are still considered risky even though NASA says they`ve been a
crucial part of the construction and maintenance of the International Space Station. The most expensive object people have ever built.
As an example of that maintenance, two astronauts, one from Europe and one from Japan took a walk outside the ISS on Sunday. Both have completed
several spacewalks before. Their mission this time around was to set up support equipment for a new solar power unit which will be installed on a
future space trip. If you`ve ever wondered what it`s like to work outside, when outside means orbiting the Earth. Here`s your answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
JOHN "DANNY" OLIVAS, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: The airlock on the hatch came open. Immediately inside the airlock itself it was bathed in this beautiful
color of blue, and it was the light reflecting off the -- the ocean below. And I saw -- saw planet Earth and just my feet just -- just dangling there,
and I thought to myself, you know, this is absolutely beautiful. I can`t -- I can`t believe that I`m here, and I said, OK, we got work to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
The process associated with actually going out the door begins months before hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
Understanding the -- the -- the choreography of what`s going to take place over an eight hour period. What are the technical challenges for that
particular activity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
You are your own self contained vessel. You have your own oxygen system, your own power supply, your own communication system. You have obviously
all the tools that you brought with you. You have the ability to reject the heat that you build up as you`re working inside the spacesuit. So you have
to, kind of, manage all that as your own little independent spacecraft out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
And because we can rely heavily on our training, that allows us to not be overwhelmed with the things that you just can`t emulate here on the ground.
At the end of our first spacewalk, I stopped on the truss just for a second and it was nighttime, and I looked down below and I could -- it was -- I
know exactly where I was. I was over the Indian Ocean, because I could see the -- the lights along the -- the coastline. It`s such a -- an incredible
feeling to -- to just be able to see that, to take that in and, kind of, be able to be in that moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Not ready to come back down to Earth just yet. We`re having a look at a new hot air balloon that would take well paying customers to the edge of
space, or at least higher than 99 percent of the Earth`s atmosphere. If "Space Perspective" flights get off the ground as planned in 2024, they`ll
rise 100,000 feet above our planet`s surface.
Technically space is defined as starting quite a bit higher than that, but the balloon flight would still allow passengers to see the darkness of
space. It would be a relatively relaxing rise for as many as eight people at a time. Flights would last six hours and there will be a bathroom
onboard. If you want to get onboard, the company is selling tickets in advance, but they`re $125,000 each.
Which would leave a lot of space in your wallet, if you know what I`m saying, but if you need a lift, you have a ballooning budget. And you don`t
mind being accused of looking down on people, this could put your head well above the clouds for a flight of fancy that defies and then depends on
gravity.
De Anza High School, we see you watching from Richmond, California. Thank you for subscribing and leaving a comment on our You Tube channel and, of
course, that is the only way to get a school mentioned on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz and I`m grateful to have you watching.
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