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Shuttle Enterprise's Final Flight; $200,000 Raised for Zimmerman; Police Block Off Several London Roads; Ex-CIA Official Defense Waterboarding; Obama to Veterans: "We Can't Wait"; Edwards' Defense Grills Star Witness; Shuttle Enterprise's Final Flight

Aired April 27, 2012 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello.

Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, it is another very big day for space gates and history buffs. The shuttle Enterprise hitching a ride on top a 747 bound for New York's Intrepid Museum. We're live at every point along the way.

Zimmerman bombshell. Trayvon Martin's killer who told the court just last week that he didn't have any money has $200,000 in the bank. This morning his bond could be revoked.

Plus, scare on the tarmac. Forty-three passengers kept on board a plane for more than three hours. The cause, a bug bite.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

Good morning to you. I am Carol Costello. And just -- there it is. You are looking at the space shuttle Enterprise just minutes before its final flight. It's the granddaddy of a program. Now (INAUDIBLE) early 1970s. It was the next wave of a space race that still had Americans holding their breath. A craft so futuristic and exciting President Ford told NASA to name it after Captain Kirk's ship from the legendary show "Star Trek."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, we did go where no man had gone before and today we take you to Washington where just minutes from now the Enterprise will take off for New York City.

We have Athena Jones in Washington, John Zarrella in Miami, and Reynolds Wolf is tracking the Enterprise, and oh yes, Jason Carroll is in New York for us.

But let's start in Miami and John Zarrella, he kicks off our coverage.

So, John, I am ready for some spectacular pictures.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. This ought to be sensational. You know it was supposed to be named the Constitution but all those Trekies wrote in to the president and with the power of the Trekies they got NASA to change the name to Enterprise. Kind of a near little factoid there.

But yes, in just a few minutes, around 9:30 a.m., going to take off. This is the Rodney Dangerfield of space shuttles. You know, built in the '70s as you said. It was the very first space shuttle to fly but it never flew in space. It was used for test flights out in California to test the aerodynamics of the shuttle concept, to test the ability of a free-flying vehicle.

Remember the shuttle never had power when it came down. It was a glider. To test its ability to land safely. They first used it out on the dry lake bed out in California before they actually tested it on the -- on the hard surface out in California. And then after those tests were done, it was brought down to the Kennedy Space Center, used again for more testing of the concepts and the abilities of the shuttle to fly.

But again, it never flew in space, Carol. So this is going to be a really special day for Enterprise. Finally getting its due.

COSTELLO: Finally getting its due and soon it will piggyback on board that 747 and make its way to New York City.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

COSTELLO: We'll get back to you, John Zarrella. Twenty-five minutes the Enterprise due to take off from Dulles International Airport just outside of Washington. Its next stop JFK in New York but along the way some great images that we will share with you.

Here's how we expect things to fall into place. The departure fro Duller scheduled for 9:30 Eastern. Then the Enterprise is expected to buzz the Statue of Liberty and other New York landmarks including its new home, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Due to land at JFK around 11:00 Eastern if all goes according to plan.

A bombshell in the case against George Zimmerman. It turns out the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin is not broke. He has $200,000 in the bank. Something Zimmerman's attorney did not spell out in Zimmerman's bond hearing. That means a judge today could revoke Zimmerman's bond.

That $200,000 came from Zimmerman's supporters who donated to his Web site. Zimmerman's attorney who has said he thought his client had no money spoke exclusively with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S LAWYER: I'm not certain that he thought in some sense that they were available to him because even after the bond was granted, it was the family who was trying to come up with enough money for the bond and I guess if they thought that they had full, easy access to it they simply could have used that.

But now that I'm aware of it, we're certainly going to deal with it in a much more transparent way, probably bring in someone like an accountant to assist me with administering it and just deal with it very openly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The bombshell comes as a hearing on Zimmerman's criminal file begins.

Martin Savidge has been covering this case for such a long time.

So what does this mean? What will happen in court today?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, there's three things that -- essentially the judge could do. And one is to revoke the bond. That means that George Zimmerman would have to once again come back in custody, or could raise the bond. It was at $15,000 cash, $150,000. Or just leave it alone.

We don't know what's going to happen here. However, this was going to be another routine kind of hearing and it's far from routine now because, you know, once this revelation was made, $200,000, it has a lot of people very surprised.

Now, Mark O'Mara, the attorney that represents George Zimmerman, he says look, his client did not tell him of this, he was not aware of it last week when they went in for the bond hearing, but George Zimmerman, you've got to assume was pretty much aware of this. And remember the prosecution had three of his family members under oath on the stand asking them about the Web site, how much money, they all said they don't know.

COSTELLO: It's strange (INAUDIBLE) that Mark O'Mara wouldn't know about this because he knew about these websites. I mean didn't he check them out? Or is there no way to check them out and find out how much money was raised?

SAVIDGE: Well, I think he had other priorities, of course. He had just came on the case. There were a lot of things he was dealing with. I think that initially he felt that yes, there may have been money raised. There was the PayPal accounts tied to them, but that the amounts were very small. Several hundred dollars, or maybe a thousand dollars, not $200,000.

And what that clearly shows is that there are a lot of people that apparently support George Zimmerman, believe that he's being wrongly persecuted here, and they're willing to put their money down on it.

COSTELLO: So Trayvon Martin's family said George Zimmerman took the stand and said what he said and apologized to the family, all to raise more money. I mean is it possible that that money could have been raised after George Zimmerman took the stand in that initial bond hearing?

SAVIDGE: No. From what we are hearing, this is money that was raised over the course of several weeks after George Zimmerman put his Web site out there. It was pretty good fund-raising. And there's no question that the attorney will plan to put up his own Web site to build a defense fund for George Zimmerman. It's expected to take at least a million dollars. So the fund-raising will begin again in earnest. We'll have to see what damage has been done by this kind of trickle out revelation.

COSTELLO: I know you're going to be covering the hearing today. And we'll check back with you.

Martin Savidge, thanks.

A bit of breaking news to share with you. It's a really strange story. It's also an intense police situation and it's unfolding in London right now. Happening in Totenham Court road. That's in central London. And police say a man is throwing things out of a fifth floor window of a building. Things like TV sets and other large objects. They have closed off several blocks.

This area is a popular place for shopping. A police negotiator now heading to the scene.

Nic Robertson is our senior international correspondent. He's on the phone.

So, this guy is throwing TVs out the window?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear why he was doing it yet. And the police are saying at this time it's not clear if he has anyone held hostage with him. But that's the reason they say they're sending a negotiator. And while we've been standing here, Carol, the situation has been developing over the last hour or so since it began.

We have seen police explosive sniffer dogs be brought into the scene and what's unusual here in London to see armed police officers brought into the scene, two officers arriving in a high-speed police vehicle. They have weapons holstered on their hips, unclear if these were live round weapons or tasers that they have. But unusual certainly in London to see armed officers brought on the scene of a situation.

It is still developing here. There are five large ambulances on stand by and it's unclear how many people are currently involved. But one witness, this of course has not been confirmed by the police at this stage but one witness did report a man who is disturbed going into an employment agency with a canister that he had about his person and threatening to explode the canister.

Not clear if there were any explosives involved, if he actually had any explosives but the police it seems taking no precautions bringing in those sniffer dogs as well. And this is still an ongoing situation essential. London police trying to clear all the snarled traffic here at the same time the negotiations appear to be going on.

COSTELLO: Nic Robertson reporting live from London. Thanks.

The CIA agent who led the waterboarding of terror detainees after 9/11 is talking about it for the first time. Jose Rodriguez tells "60 Minutes" that waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other enhanced interrogation techniques paid off with valuable information that saved lives. Critics say the techniques amounted to torture.

In a CBS' "60 Minutes" interview Rodriguez talks about the most notorious and maybe least cooperative detainee of all, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Agents waterboarded him more than 180 times in a month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE RODRIGUEZ, FORMER HEAD OF CIA CLANDESTINE SERVICE: This is an individual who probably didn't give a rat's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about having water poured on his face.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He never believed for one second you were going to kill him.

RODRIGUEZ: No. Let me just tell you, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would use his fingers to count the number of seconds because he knew that in all likelihood we would stop at 10. So this doesn't sound like a person who is afraid of dying.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: If he's sitting there counting off, he knows you're not going to kill him. He knows he's not going to drown, then why do it? What's the point?

RODRIGUEZ: I think that the cumulative effect of waterboarding and sleep deprivation and everything else that was done actually got to him.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: SO what happens? Does he break down? Does he weep? Does he fall apart?

RODRIGUEZ: No. He gets a good night's sleep. He gets his -- by the way, he was very heavy. And when he came to us, and he lost 50 pounds. So --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What -- he's -- Ensure? You mean like people in the hospital who drink that stuff?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Dietary manipulation was part of these techniques.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation, I mean, this is Orwellian stuff. The United States doesn't do that.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, we do. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Fascinating. The Obama administration ended the enhanced interrogation program. Rodriguez says that was a mistake. He also criticized the use of drones to kill terrorists rather than capture them.

John Edwards' lawyers are doing their best to cast doubts on the prosecution's star witness who is expected to be back on the stand today. Former Edwards' aide Andrew Young admitted much of the nearly $1 million in campaign supporters' money went to build his dream house and not to cover up Edwards' affair. Young's wife is also expected to take the stand today in Greensboro.

The CDC has given the all-clear after fears a Delta passenger might have monkey pox. A Minnesota woman coming back from Uganda triggered the scare. Passengers on board the flight were quarantined for three hours in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PENNINGTON, PASSENGER: The captain comes on and says, well, this may sound a little strange but it seems like we're going to be quarantined for a moment. Apparently someone is on board and they may or may not have something. So we're reading the Ebola virus and small pox and you know, we're taking pictures. Does it look like this? And the flight attendant says no, it doesn't look like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Yes, doctors checked the passengers out. It turns out she just had bites from bed bugs.

New Orleans Saints GM Mickey Loomis is talking with a clear conscience he says. Loomis decided a tweet was not good enough and he went public. He emphatically denied an ESPN report that he eavesdropped on other team's coaches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICKEY LOOMIS, GENERAL MANAGER, NEW ORLEANS' SAINTS: I have never listened to an opposing team's communications. I have never asked for the capability to listen to an opposing team's communications. I have never inquired as to the possibility of listening in on an opposing team's communications. And I have never been aware of any capability to listen in on an opposing team's communication at the Superdome or at any NFL stadium.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The FBI and police are looking into wiretaps and eavesdropping allegations. Loomis says he doesn't know who made the eavesdropping claim but does say he's pretty darn angry about it.

No surprise at the beginning of the NFL draft last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The pressure. And as expected Washington chose another quarterback -- I'm talking about the Redskins now. Robert Griffin III, that was the next pick, then eight trades went down as other teams move up to get their first-round picks.

President Obama has a plan to protect veterans who want to go from the front lines to college classrooms. We'll have the details for you from Washington just ahead.

And this morning we're following the historic journey of the space shuttle Enterprise. We'll see it leave Washington for New York live. It's going to take off in just about 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Sixteen minutes past the hour.

Checking our top stories now:

You are looking at the space shuttle Enterprise just minutes before its land voyage, right at top of jumbo jet from northern Virginia to New York City. It's final destination: the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York. Enterprise should pass a lot of landmarks along the way, including the Statue of Liberty.

We'll have it all for you live.

Police in London blocked off about two blocks in London after a man throw a file of things out of a fifth flour window. Police say it's unclear if this is a hostage situation.

Nine thousand U.S. Marines are shipping out of Japan. The U.S. government has agreed to remove them and their family members from a base in Okinawa. Residents there wanted them gone. They are angry over a string of criminal acts dating back to 1995. About half of the Marines will go to Guam. Others are being transferred to Hawaii and Australia.

And Colombia's ambassador to the United States says President Obama needs to apologize for the Secret Service prostitution scandal. Yes, Gabriel Silva thinks the whole thing has tarnished Cartagena's reputation and that a public apology will help. So far, nine Secret Service members have either resigned or been fired for allegedly buying prostitutes in Colombia.

From slow-jamming the news to singing Al Green, President Obama showing the lighter side on the campaign trail in his re-election bid. And as you might expect, Republican groups went on the attack. One group now slamming the man it calls, quote, "the celebrity president."

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

COSTELLO: The ad was produced by America's Crossroads, which is a super PAC backed by former George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove.

In the meantime, President Obama will focus on the nation's veterans today, unveiling a plan at Ft. Stewart in Georgia to help service members who want to go to college.

White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is in Washington.

So, what is it called? The "we can't wait" initiatives? Give us some specifics.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is another one of "go it alone" things that he's doing, Carol. He'll be announcing this executive order specifically targeting veterans and specifically targeting for-profit colleges.

If you look at the numbers, you can see that there are a lot of for-profit colleges who are receiving federal loan money, really G.I. bill money from veterans.

According to statistics from the Senate Health Committee, eight of the 10 largest recipients of G.I bill money, the federal money that veterans get to go to school are for-profit schools and you also certainly are a number that the White House will point to that a number of them have dropout rates of over 50 percent.

So, what is the plan here for President Obama when he's down in Florida? He'll be announcing a few different things for this initiative. One is to have more transparency in career placements, trying to hold these schools more accountable for, you know, where students -- specifically veterans will be getting jobs after they graduate. Also, cracking down on aggressive recruiting tactics on military bases and adding sort of a layer of advising so that there's really resources for veterans when it comes to financial aid and really just their movement through academically through these colleges, Carol.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar reporting live from Washington.

Just ahead on NEWSROOM, the man who could be critical of the government's case against John Edwards is going back on the stand today but there's a problem. He seems to have trouble remembering some very important details like, you know, where the money went.

We're also keeping an eye on the space shuttle Enterprise all morning long. It's set to leave Washington in just a few minutes. We'll bring the take off to you live.

CNN continues in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Twenty-three minutes past the hour this morning.

The government's star witness in the John Edwards trial is expected to be back on the stand. The defense grilled Andrew Young, asking if he made up stories about the former presidential candidate who's accused of misusing campaign funds to hide his affair.

Here's Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Mr. Edwards.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thursday, for the first time, the court began releasing some of the prosecution exhibits entered into evidence, pictures of one of the houses in North Carolina where John Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, stayed after she moved away from the New York area to escape hounding by the media, phone records, transcripts of phone calls, and there was more painful cross- examination with prosecution star witness, Andrew Young, on the stand.

A former right-hand man to Edwards who helped to conceal the former senator's affair with Rielle Hunter and wrote a book to tell about it.

Edwards' defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, continued to try to chip away at Young's credibility and his recollection of dates, times, places and conversations he had with Edwards.

Young often sparring with Lowell saying he was not able to recall certain specific dates and times or even the sequence of events, not able to remember whether he wrote a check to buy a car for Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, or paid for it some other way. Lowell asked if he used Hunter as a way to get money for himself. Young said no.

Most of the money in question was given by a wealthy Edwards benefactor, Bunny Mellon of Northern Virginia. Mellon's check released publicly Thursday by the court had been endorsed by Young's wife and deposited in the Young family account. Mellon ended up giving $725,000 -- though, the larger amount she had promised is in dispute.

The Edwards' defense team needs a clear timeline to try to support its claim that Young was enriching himself while he was paying for living expenses, travel expenses for Hunter and the baby girl fathered by Edwards. The cross-examination was painful at times.

At one point, Judge Catherine Eagles warned the defense she might have to exclude certain evidence because it was confusing the issues or wasting time. A North Carolina law professor observing the trial defended Lowell's line of questioning.

MIKE RICH, ELON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: I think he's dealing with a hostile, difficult witness to get answers out of. And so, it's taken a long time, but it doesn't seem like he's been going around in circles and really wasting the court or the jury's time.

JOHNS (on camera): A lot of the recent testimony zeroed in on how much Andrew Young may have benefited financially from the John Edwards scandal -- as hundreds of thousands of dollars kept coming in supposedly for the benefit of Rielle Hunter.

Joe Johns, CNN, Greensboro, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Joe Johns reporting.

The space shuttle Enterprise, we think it's moving right now. We're going to go live out to Dulles Airport in Virginia. You can see it's just about to take off. The shuttle Enterprise is on top of that Boeing 747.

It will make its way to New York City where it will have the flyover sort of like it did in Washington last week. It will fly over landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, a few bridges. And then it will land at JFK airport. And after that it will be housed in a museum. And, you know, another chapter in NASA's history will be closed.

As this thing takes off, we're going to show it to you. We're just waiting for right now.

John Zarrella, are you there?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here, Carol.

COSTELLO: So it's so cool -- it's just a spectacular sight.

ZARRELLA: Yes, didn't we just do this not that long ago? When Discovery flew from Florida up to Dulles, you know, that is how this all shook out because Discovery ends up going to the Smithsonian as oldest vehicle that NASA had that had flown (AUDIO GAP) going up to New York to the sea, air and space museum.

And, you know, as you see it, it's got -- they have that tail cone on there again. That duck tail I like to call it that helps with aerodynamics of the vehicle. So, you know, it's going to be a great day in New York to watch this. It will be just spectacular to see this flyover and up the Hudson River, we understand and down the Hudson and maybe into New Jersey.

You know, just like what happened with Discovery, Carol. We don't know for sure the exact flight path they're going to take. They'll fly at about 20,000 feet, 24,000 feet. They will be cruising at about -- I'm told from NASA folks at Johnson Space Center, told me this morning they'll cruise at about 300 knots up to the New York area.

It's the same flight crew that flew Discovery up to Dulles, and is going to take Enterprise to New York, except I think the weather officer, I understand, the weather pilot has changed. So, four of the five (AUDIO GAP).

COSTELLO: Do we have Athena Jones out there? OK. Athena, I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here.

COSTELLO: OK. Athena Jones, explain to us what's happening from your vantage point. You're at Dulles.

JONES: We just watched the plane with the Enterprise perched on top move from the position where it had been parked for several days now. It's now taxiing down the runway preparing to take off. We just saw take off what we believe is the NASA plane accompanying it, just like it did with the last flight of the Discovery up here from Florida.

So we have seen that plane take off. This one is now taxiing out of our view but you've got up here dozens of people. Just an hour ago, it may have been about 15 people is now over 100. Lots of cameras, TV cameras, lots of people just coming out to see this big sight. It's not going to be as you guys mentioned, as spectacular as it is going to be in New York today. We had our chance a couple weeks ago here.

People are coming out. Some have come back. People who saw the Discovery land. I talked to one woman who saw Discovery -- one woman from Florida who came to see it and is back now to see Enterprise take off. There are kids of all ages. Even a kid under 11-month-old kid in a stroller.

So, lots of people coming out on this windy day waiting for this to take off.

COSTELLO: You know, it's just cool to see any plane take off but when it has a huge shuttle on top of it, it's even more spectacular.

Jason Carroll, you are out there in New York City. Is New York prepared?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. New York is more than prepared, Carol. It's prepared and excited. You heard Athena talking about the wind. As we were sitting in the live truck just waiting for this live shot to happen here, our truck was slowly rocking back and forth.

So, a lot of us had questions as to whether or not this flight would actually happen but we're all hearing it's a go. The music is blaring in the background and just off camera, there are lots of people lining up, for what is supposed to be a pretty spectacular ceremony for Enterprise's arrival.

Hundreds of folks have been invited down here. Schoolchildren from New York, from Connecticut, from New Jersey, folks from NASA are going to speak.

Also, some folks from the Intrepid Sea and Air Museum will be down here as well. That will be Enterprise's final resting place when it gets here it will be housed here for several months. And then on June 6th another spectacular moment when Enterprise is loaded up on a barge and sailed over to the Hudson River where it will end up at the Intrepid Sea and Air Museum.

Once again, some questions about the wind here but we're told everything is a go. It will land on JFK's longest runway, which is 14,500 feet long. I'm told. So, right now, everyone just waiting to see what will happen.

But, Carol, as you know, even if you weren't invited to this special ceremony here at JFK, a lot of folks in New York City are going to get the opportunity to see Enterprise do its low flyover of the city. Supposed to be down the Hudson River, so folks along the Hudson River will get a view. Folks downtown will be able to get a view, what we call Battery Park City in that area, as Enterprise makes a fly by the Statue of liberty.

So, lots of excitement and anticipation awaiting for the arrival -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait. I hear the music in the background there.

John Zarrella, explain to us who is the cockpit of that plane, who's flying the Enterprise to New York City?

ZARRELLA: Well, it's the same crew again that flew it. I'll have to get you their names. The same crew that flew Discovery up there, except as I mentioned just the weather officer is different. So, I've got that list and I'll bring that up as we get them in orbit -- get them in orbit, they never flew on orbit in this vehicle -- when they actually take off.

And that's the point, too. You know, this was a shuttle that could have flown in space. It was -- it didn't have engines initially. It never flew. It was used for all of those landing tests in the '70s to test the aerodynamics of the space shuttle concept, to make sure that it could in fact re-enter the earth's atmosphere, that they could glide safely back to earth.

So, that's what it was primarily used for. But there was some thought of perhaps having it to be the second shuttle to fly after Columbia, but then in some of the last free flying tests it did of the 747, they discovered some structural things that they decided to change in the final design of Colombia. So, it would have been more expensive for NASA go back, take Enterprise apart, than it was to just go ahead and say, OK, we're not going to retro fit it. We're not going to do that. We're just going to, you know, build Colombia, then, Challenger and Discovery and those vehicles, and thus Enterprise ends up as a museum piece in 1985 in the Smithsonian.

But not until it did all of these tests that -- without those tests, the space shuttle fleet may never have flown if they weren't able to successfully do those tests out in California. And, you know, Carol, it spent a lot of time on the road. It was in Europe. It went to an air show in Paris. It went to Germany, to Canada, to Italy.

NASA used it as really an ambassador of the space shuttle fleet flying it all over. Did the U.S. world fair in Louisiana as well, in New Orleans back in 1983.

So it's had a very, very colorful history. It's just not a lot of people know about it because it never actually flew in space.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Athena Jones, why is it stopped? Do you know?

JONES: We're not sure. We don't know what it could be waiting for. We're all watching it to see when it makes its next move.

Interesting to hear a lot of history that John Zarrella talks about. You know, the 747 jumbo jet that the Enterprise is mounted on top of also has -- one moment -- an interesting history. We're hearing sirens. We're not sure what that's about.

The plane has an interesting history. It's called a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 905. That's the technical, you know, sort of fun NASA acronym for it. It's a 747 that was in commercial use.

They bought it from American Airlines back in 1974. It looks now as though this contraption may be moving a bit. The shuttle on top of the plane is inching forward continuing on to prepare to take off.

Just to finish up that plane, that jumbo jet was brought from American Airlines back in 1974.

One interesting fact, a little tidbit for you, is that shuttle, that Enterprise weighs 150,000 pounds. But believe it or not even though that shuttle is mounted on top of that gigantic 747 four engine plane, it still weighs less than what a fully loaded 747 would weigh normally because this one is stripped down after the forward cabin, there's no seats in there, no galley. No passengers. No luggage of course. So, it's going to be a lot less heavy.

So, we're still waiting to see it takeoff. Still watching it get in place.

COSTELLO: OK. We have Eileen Collins on the phone, an astronaut. Actually, the first female shuttle commander.

Eileen, thank you for being with us this morning.

EILEEN COLLINS, FIRST FEMALE SPACE SHUTTLE COMMANDER (via telephone): Good morning. Thanks.

COSTELLO: So, as you're watching this image, what goes through your mind?

COLLINS: Well, of course I'm sad to see the shuttles go off to a museum. In this case, Enterprise has been in a museum since 1985. It's been in the air and space museum in Washington.

So, I'm excited that now we're going to have a shuttle in a different part of the country where people from around the country can see it up in New York. I think there's some good in this too.

COSTELLO: So, space travel for NASA has come to a halt. Do you hope that when people go and look at these shuttles in these museums, that it will create an excitement among people again for the space program?

COLLINS: Oh, without a doubt. People are going to se how big the shuttle was and by looking at it, they'll see how large the payloads were that we were able to take up into orbit, but also looking at the shuttle, we should realize that it took us to low earth orbit which is only 200 to 300 miles above the surface.

And now the country is building a replacement is the best thing I can think of, but it's actually going to be more versatile and able to take a starter to explore beyond lower orbit and our country will go back to the moon, onto asteroids and some day to Mars. And I think that will be very exciting to young people -- yes, but everybody that sees the shuttles in the museums.

COSTELLO: I can remember, Eileen, when George W. Bush, President Bush talked about going to Mars. And everybody was excited about it. And there were initial plans made and then it all came to a stop.

COLLINS: In fact, I remember that too. I know people were very excited about it.

Space flight is expensive. It's not just executing and operating and doing the space flight but it's developing. That's where the big costs are.

So, we need to continue to do this and NASA is doing this today. We've got a space station in low earth orbit. The shuttle built that space station and people that worked in the shuttle program can be very, very proud of that space station. But it's there to help us learn how to go to mars and how to keep people healthy in space for long periods of time and that obviously is necessary if we are going to safely do deep space.

COSTELLO: As we're watching this, you're a pilot. What does it feel like to be the pilot of that 747 with the shuttle on board your back?

COLLINS: Well, these are very professional highly trained pilots that are making this takeoff right now and I'm sure they are very focused on their check list, their instruments, their flying skills. They know that this is a very important mission. They know they want to get that shuttle up there safely.

So, I would say they are focused and emotions are probably running pretty low as they make sure they do this mission safely. But I think once the pilots are done and they get the shuttle up there safely, they're going to be very proud of what they've done and they trained for a long time for this. So, good for them.

COSTELLO: I know. They are picking up speed now. That means takeoff is not far away.

We saw a shot of the Hudson River in New York and you could actually see white caps, so it means it's quite windy there.

How worried is the pilot when they talk high wind in New York City?

COLLINS: Well, you can see they have a very high profile. So, any crosswind would push them to the right or left and make landing more difficult. Also make an approach more difficult.

But they have flight rules that would -- if winds were too high, they have the forecast. They would know that and wouldn't go. So, the flights are within limits for this flight. I'm sure they are confident. Not to worry.

COSTELLO: OK. Do we have the NASA transmission? I'm asking my producer. Negative. OK. We just don't have that transmission yet.

What a beautiful sight. And what a beautiful takeoff.

Eileen, it looks so lumbering taking off and not like the powerful takeoffs you feel when you're inside of a plane.

COLLINS: Well, I think when you look at this 747 with a space shuttle on top, that is a huge flying vehicle right there. So, it looks like it's going slow, but it's actually going quite fast. If you looked at a small airplane going at that same speed it would appear to go faster. So, there's a bit of an illusion here. I would imagine that they are probably approaching if not over about 150 to 200 miles an hour at this point.

COSTELLO: Eileen, thanks.

We're going to take a quick break and we'll be back with more and show you spectacular pictures after a short break.

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COSTELLO: OK. You are looking live at a Boeing 747 with the space shuttle Enterprise on its back. It is on its way to New York City. It will land in just about an hour at JFK.

But, of course, before it lands there, it will, of course, make its way around the city -- pass some landmarks in the city like Central Park and Statue of Liberty and what a beautiful sight this is.

Just a couple minutes ago, it took off from Dulles Airport in Virginia. It was a magnificent takeoff.

Reynolds Wolf is here. He's our meteorologist.

And I just wanted to talk about the challenges of flying over the Hudson River in New York. It's really windy there.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It certainly is going to be on a day like today. If you were flying just as a commercial airline, you're flying over. You're going to feel a little bit of a bump here and there, no question about it. But it's going to be enough that these guys may have a safe landing obviously at JFK.

Amazing to see this immense object. Of course, you got two separate entities but they are joined as one, views at the top. And, you know, it's amazing is when you think about the big tractor, the thing is pulling it, the 747, maximum air speed about 700 miles an hour. But with shuttle on top of it, it can only do half of that. You can't go any faster than that. So, this is really a slow craw.

That being said, if you were standing next to it and had this come by, it would roar by at incredible speed obviously. But from our vantage point, it does appear to be going very slow.

But it's just amazing. If Orville and Wilbur Wright were alive today --

COSTELLO: Oh my.

WOLF: And they are going to see something, this -- this huge immense object going through parts of -- of the northeast, they would be just blown away -- no question about it. But it will going to some -- pass some very amazing landmarks in parts of the northeast. Statue of Liberty, up the Hudson River, you see of course some of the places it's going to be going by.

JFK Airport is its destination for today. But the eventual spot -- the eventual home of course will be at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. And -- and what a site to behold. You -- you've seen plenty of these launch from Cape Canaveral haven't you, in Florida.

COSTELLO: Oh yes I have.

WOLF: It's kind of weird -- isn't it strange to see one of these piggyback on a 747 -- still kind of odd.

COSTELLO: I mean, it's a spectacular sight but it's sad to me because it's part of our history that is being put to bed.

WOLF: I'm with you, absolutely.

COSTELLO: And we don't really know -- you know what, well Eileen told us a few things that NASA is coming up with but that's far, far into the future. I mean the private industry will take over space travel for the United States and that's just kind of weird, at least for me to think about because you know if you think about the JFK speech and you know all -- all the presidents that really pushed space travel and -- and that is no more.

So it's spectacular sight and a sad sight. We're going to head out to New York City to check in with Jason Carroll. He is at JFK where people are gathered to watch this thing land. So set the scene for us, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, we're excited here in New York. This is a new sight for many New Yorkers. I know you were talking about seeing many shuttle takeoffs and landings, wherever it may be, in Florida.

But for -- but for folks here in the northeast, this is a completely new sight. So an exciting day for people here in New York. Lots of people now are starting to file in here at JFK. Hundreds invited for the ceremony to take place once "Enterprise" makes its historic landing here. It will be landing on the longest runway here at JFK some 14,500 feet long.

There were some early concerns about the wind. We've been told that we've been experiencing wind gusts here at about 30 miles per hour. But NASA says it's a go. You've seen the "Enterprise" take off from Dulles, and so it's on its way.

And so we're all here anxiously awaiting. And I have to tell you, there were a lot of folks here in New York that didn't expect New York City to be chosen as one of the final spots. If you look at the other places. Atlanta, the "Atlantis" is going to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The "Endeavour" heading to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. You've got "Discovery" going to the Smithsonian in Virginia. And of course the "Enterprise" here.

I know a lot of folks in Houston were somewhat disappointed that they did not get a shuttle. So some bittersweet moments for those in Houston but an exciting moment for people here in New York -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Somewhat disappointed? They were flat out angry. But we'll talk more about that in a minute. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more.

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COSTELLO: Space shuttle "Endeavour" -- oh, space shuttle, "Enterprise" rather on top of a Boeing 747. It took off just about 20 minutes ago from Dulles International Airport in Virginia. It's on its way to New York City. What a beautiful takeoff it was. It looks kind of lumbering (ph) from this shot but we assure you it was going faster than it looks.

It will make its way to JFK Airport -- we believe in just about it should land at 11:00 Eastern Time. But you never know.

Let's head out to Miami and John Zarrella. And it's kind of bittersweet today watching this thing.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes you know, it again, another mark to the end of -- the end of an era is here and Jason was mentioning you're -- you know going to have "Atlantis" retired to the Kennedy Space Center and you're going to have "Endeavour" out at the California Science Center.

But you asked and now I do have in front of me the names of the crew that's flying the shuttle. Again, I mentioned it's pretty much the same crew that brought "Discovery" up to Dulles. You have Bill Wright who is commanding today. Jeff Multe is the pilot today. Henry Taylor and Larry Larose (ph) are the flight engineers and Bob Zimmerman is the weather pilot.

He's probably got a pretty big job today. And he's new on this flight given the -- the conditions we're seeing up there in New York with the wind and everything blowing there and the white caps on the Hudson River. So his job is probably a little bigger than it was for the -- for the weather officer who flew "Discovery" up to Dulles when it was such a spectacular day up there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. I'm going to interrupt you. Because we have Lori Garver on the phone, she is the number two at NASA. And we want to get her -- I'm sorry? Oh she's live. We're glad we put you in front of a camera. That's a nice surprise for me, Lori. Thank you for being with us this morning.

LORI GARVER, DEPUTY NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Good morning. It's great to be here.

COSTELLO: So these flyovers of these shuttles over major cities like the one over Washington, D.C., it was just spectacular. I'm sure the flyover over New York City will be spectacular as well.

What do you want people to take away from those?

GARVER: Well it is very exciting to share the excitement of the space program with the American people. We truly believe that the 30- year shuttle history has helped develop a program that's going to take us farther into space. It built the International Space Station. And we want to share that excitement with the public.

COSTELLO: How much planning has gone into this?

GARVER: Well the -- NASA is all about planning. And the space shuttle program has been planned to retire for over six years now. And we looked into how to best show the public that paid for these space shuttles about the program.

And we had bids for each of the cities. New York City was able to get the "Enterprise" and we've been planning for half a year now about this flight. And after she lands here at JFK today, in two months she'll be barged up the river to the Intrepid Museum.

COSTELLO: Can you talk to us a little about the future of the space program in the United States and what NASA has planned.

GARVER: Of course. All over the country today, new space vehicles are being built with names like "Orion" and "Dragon" and "Dream Chaser" to carry us even farther into space. We have the space station with three astronauts living and working full-time as I speak in space studying how to make life better on earth and also how we can explore further.

We are partnering with our industry here in the United States to be able to lower the cost of space operations. The shuttle was a great program, but it cost $3.5 billion a year. She served her purpose well and now we are going to be able to go to space with more people and do more things to benefit the future of humanity.

COSTELLO: You know, Lori for old-timers seeing the space shuttles like retire to a museum is a sad thing, but it's progress too isn't it?

GARVER: That's right. As we develop technology, we have to go further. The space shuttle was built with 1970s technology. It's a very interesting aspect of it today as "Enterprise" lands. I was just talking to Leonard Nimoy from "Star Trek" and he hasn't seen the space shuttle since she rolled out in 1976.

And you think about in that history what we have developed technically. And if we're going to have that "Star Trek" future, we need to use today's technology to go back into space at a cost that is less and to be able to take us farther. It's actually a very exciting time.

COSTELLO: Wait a minute. You talked to Mr. Spock?

GARVER: Mr. Spock is here. He's in New York and he's looking to see the "Enterprise" again after more than 30 years.

COSTELLO: And there is a connection right, because the "Enterprise" the space shuttle "Enterprise" was named after the "Star Trek's" "Enterprise".

GARVER: That's right. That's why he's here. When the space shuttle was developed and the very first space shuttle was being named, there was a massive write-in campaign and fans of Star Trek got her named the "Enterprise". And so he wants to be here as she comes to New York.

COSTELLO: Oh. Ok. I'm going to have Jason Carroll chase him down. That would be cool. Not that we don't like talking to you Lori. I didn't mean it that way.

GARVER: Absolutely. He'll be on the stage. No, no -- of course, that's why I brought it up. He'll be on the stage with me later, but I know it was -- he's a surprise guest.

COSTELLO: Lori Garver, number two at NASA. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. And we can't wait until we can see the space shuttle again. We don't have cameras pointing at the places flying now. But we will soon. Thanks so much for joining us.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more after this.

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