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Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump Fires Loyalist Pam Bondi As Attorney General; Hegseth Ousts Top General; Artemis Leaving Earth's Orbit On Way Toward Moon. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired April 02, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:27]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Pam Bondi is fired. Trump's attorney general out after Trump grew frustrated with her handling of the Epstein files and his desire to target his perceived political enemies. But why now? And who could be next?

Also, breaking another ouster. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling the top Army general to step down immediately out in the middle of Trump's war with Iran. Why?

And Artemis II about to take the most significant step of the entire mission so far, this critical milestone, if successful, will put the astronauts on track to the moon. We're going to bring it to you live.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

KEILAR: Good evening. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news, Pam Bondi trying to save face after president Trump fired her. The ousted attorney general posted that she's, quote, "thrilled about returning to the private sector."

That message roughly two hours after Trump announced he fired her, making Bondi the second cabinet official to get the boot in recent weeks.

In a statement, the president calling Bondi a great American patriot and a loyal friend, and Bondi was loyal to Trump. Even so, sources tell CNN Trump was frustrated with her, in no small part because of her handling of the Epstein files.

This was Bondi's original sin. February 21st, 2025.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's sitting on my desk right now to review.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Sources later said that simply wasn't true. That list never materialized, and the missteps continued from there. Several days after that appearance, Bondi made a big production of handing out binders full of what she billed as the first phase of the Epstein files to right wing influencers. But it quickly became clear that those documents had been previously released, setting off a firestorm of endless conspiracy theories.

When Congress compelled Bondi's DOJ to finally release the Epstein files, accused offenders were overredacted, and many survivors whose identities were supposed to be protected were made public.

The timing of Bondi's firing is also notable, just 12 days before the House Oversight Committee is scheduled to depose her. Trump's frustrations with Bondi went beyond Epstein, sources are telling CNN. She hadn't done enough, in his view, to target his perceived enemies, despite the fact that under Bondi's leadership, the DOJ has gone after several high profile individuals, including FBI director, formerly, James Comey, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

But several of those lawsuits have failed to hold up in court, and Bondi's termination comes despite her nonstop and effusive praise for President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONDI: President, your first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country ever, ever.

Your last 100 days would save -- are you ready for this, media? -- 258 million lives.

Thank you for fighting for our country.

We all work for the greatest president in the history of our country.

He will never stop fighting for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live at the White House.

Kristen, tell us about new details that you're learning.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, yeah, Brianna. So, in terms of that job in the private sector, I'll start there. I think this is a very clear indicator of where President Trump's mind was when he made this announcement.

We had been told in this meeting that President Trump had had with the attorney general, Pam Bondi, last night. That had been a, quote, tough meeting that he had suggested alternate paths for her other roles in the administration, perhaps even a judgeship. Clearly, he did not give her that soft landing.

And the reason why that's so notable is because there have only been two other very high profile members of President Trump's team to be fired. One is Mike Waltz, who has given them the job of U.N. ambassador, our ambassador to the U.N., and then Kristi Noem, which of course, was in the last month, the cabinet position. She was given a special envoy role.

There is no soft landing for Pam Bondi here. Now, as we have been reporting, President Trump grew frustrated with her to the point of talking about replacing her in January. But even the people around him didn't know if he would actually go through with it.

I was talking to a number of people today who were saying, yes, he has been talking about it. He has been floating different names, but they weren't sure he was actually going to pull the trigger until he did and actually called her and then made this announcement.

All of this to say that it doesn't matter how loyal you are to President Trump, as soon as he doesn't believe that you're doing enough for his agenda, he's willing to move on. I do want to point to one note that you read in that Truth Social post. He talks about a loyal friend.

Well, there is somebody who Pam Bondi is incredibly close to at this White House, and that is Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. They have grown up together. They are both Florida political operatives. They have been incredibly close.

But even Wiles herself, when she was talking to "Vanity Fair", saying that Bondi had whiffed when it came to the Epstein files, which shows you how far back this had gone. President Trump has floated a number of names to take this position. It is currently believed that Lee Zeldin had -- the EPA administrator is in the top role for that, but nothing has been decided. It's very fluid.

And just to show how fluid it is, President Trump is not naming anyone right now. He is instead said that the acting attorney general, that role will be filled by Todd Blanche, who is currently the deputy.

KEILAR: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House. Thank you for the very latest there.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna.

Sir, thanks for being with us. You notably joined forces with Republican Thomas Massie to get the Epstein files released. How are you seeing Pam Bondi's legacy when it comes to handling that issue? And how much do you think that was a factor in her dismissal?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Thomas Massie and I showed that congress is in a doormat. We forced President Trump to fire his own attorney general. And the reason he fired her is because of the Epstein cover up.

Look, she refused to release the file. She said to move on. Thomas Massie and I passed a law requiring the files to be released. Then she wasn't releasing anything. Thomas Massie and I threatened contempt. We threatened impeachment. Finally, she released three million files.

But she still wasn't releasing the rest of the file. She wasn't prosecuting. And then she got held by -- in contempt, by -- and subpoenaed by oversight. I mean, at least a subpoena. And that's, I think, the pressure that was building on her.

KEILAR: Your committee is scheduled to depose Bondi on April 14th. It's coming up very quickly. And Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, says that Bondi must still appear. But the Republican chairman, James Comer, is saying he's speaking to Republicans on the committee and the DOJ about the status of this subpoena and figuring out next steps.

Are you seeing signs that this deposition might not happen?

KHANNA: It should happen. I mean, she has questions to answer. We've interviewed former officials before. We need to ask her why did she cover-up some of the files? Why are some of these files not being released? Why was there no prosecution of individuals who have committed these heinous acts?

It, frankly, has nothing to do with whether she was attorney general or not. She should be more free to speak her mind and tell the truth. So, we absolutely need this deposition to continue.

But more importantly, we need the new attorney general, whoever that is, to commit to releasing all the Epstein files and to commit to prosecuting the individuals who raped or abused these young girls. And that should be a prerequisite to get confirmation in the United States Senate.

KEILAR: As Kirsten Holmes just reported, sources are telling CNN, the president is weighing whether to nominate Lee Zeldin, the current head of the EPA, to be the next attorney general. Obviously, he's a former member of Congress.

Like Bondi, he also has a long record of praising Trump. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE ZELDIN, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: I'm grateful this holiday season for you, Mr. President. You're willing to take a bullet for all of us and by all of us, it's the American public.

What we are accomplishing now, again, wouldn't be possible if not for your leadership. I'm grateful to the American people for electing you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Do you think, Congressman, that Zeldin I see you smiling. Do you think that having him as ag would change the priorities of this DOJ or having anyone that the president might be inclined to pick at this point will change the priorities of this DOJ?

KHANNA: Well, I'm smiling because its such sycophancy and we can't replace one lawless sycophant with another. But look, I believe that Lee Zeldin, if he's the nominee, should come

before the senate and he should answer some basic questions. Will he commit to releasing the rest of the Epstein files? Will he commit to prosecuting the individuals who have serious allegations in there, like Les Wexner and Leon Black, at least investigating them?

Will he commit to making sure that the survivors names are redacted and the people that they named are released? And if he does that, then then at least there's some credibility. And by the way, if he makes those promises and backtracks, he'll have the same fate as Pam Bondi.

KEILAR: Congressman Khanna, thank you so much for being with us this evening. We do appreciate it.

And now, I want to bring in former Trump White House Lawyer Ty Cobb.

Ty, you have not been shy about your disapproval of Pam Bondi. You called her the most reprehensible A.G. in U.S. history.

Do you think the priorities of Trump's Justice Department change at all with her gone?

TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Well, perhaps keep in mind that she's not being fired because she wasn't loyal. She's being fired because she couldn't bring Trump the bleeding heads of his enemies on a platter as he wanted. And he's trying to find somebody who will do that.

You know, she's shot and missed at Comey. She shot and missed at James. She and Pirro shot and missed at Jerome Powell.

You know yes, she butchered the Epstein files. But the Epstein files, you know, is a situation where Trump bears as much responsibility as Pam Bondi does. Trump gave the signals that, you know, transparency with regard to the Epstein files was fine. It was a pretense, of course, but Bondi took it seriously. And she and Kash Patel both agreed that that would be -- that would be an important priority of theirs.

Obviously, when they were prepared to do it, the contents of the files were so humiliating for the president that he put the kibosh on it, but I don't think it's the Epstein files alone here. I think it's the fact that she hasn't been able to successfully, you know, kill the enemies that Trump sent her out as a hit man to do. And he wants somebody who can shoot straight to the heart.

KEILAR: Yes. Sources have been clear that is -- this is sort of a multiple levels that he is frustrated with her on. What do you make of the timing of Trump firing her? Why do you think he did it now?

COBB: Well, I think -- if you go back in time, go back to the January events that your, you know, colleagues were discussing. That's, you know, so that's like 90 days ago. For a narcissist like Trump for this to eat away at him for 90 days, you know, he's been actually pretty patient. You know, this is the kind of thing that really, he can't tolerate. And I think the -- the fact that he finally did it now, you know, at a

time where, you know, she had been the target of some internecine complaints, among others in the administration, as you pointed out, she was close to Susie Wiles, but even Susie Wiles was critical of her as far as the Epstein files go.

So, there was some growing dissatisfaction with regard to her. Kristi Noem was recently canned. This is an opportune time.

I don't think you're going to see Trump firing any men, though, by the way. I mean, this -- you're going to see women. I mean, today, for example, you know, he did not provide a ringing endorsement to Tulsi Gabbard, which makes people nervous about -- about her future.

This is -- this is a situation where also, you have to keep in mind, yesterday was probably one of the worst days in history for Trump. He got humiliated at the Supreme Court because of his overreach on birthright citizenship, a racist policy that was part of his executive order that the Supreme Court clearly was skeptical of and is almost certain to rebuke him on. He was -- he was embarrassed there. He had to walk out in a huff during the argument.

The Iranian war, of course, is going horribly. Anybody in the world can see what a disaster it's been and how we've set ourselves up for economic and national security failures down the road. So, this changes the conversation.

For example, tonight, we're leading off with Pam Bondi. We're not talking about -- about Iran. We're not talking about Trump's destruction of NATO. We're not talking about oil prices.

We're not talking -- we're not even in -- in fairness to Pam Bondi, we're not even talking about the Dow, which, as we know, was the dodge that she attempted when she was asked to provide truthful representations with regard to what she was doing with regard to the Epstein files.

KEILAR: Yeah, I want to zero in on something you said, which is that he's ousted two female secretaries at this point, and do you think he has a lower tolerance for women, or do you think that he it just so happens that he is seeing and its coincidental that he sees female secretaries not maybe serving his purposes as much. Perhaps you think there is a male secretary who actually should be the one who he should be targeting at this point? Do you think he is targeting women on purpose?

COBB: Yes, I do. You know, he doesn't have the respect or, or, or the or the admiration for women that you would expect for somebody who holds this exalted office.

Also, though, I mean, yes. Are there, are there men? Yes. I mean, look at, you know, Lutnick. Mr. Let's go visit Jeffrey Epstein on his island with my family and lie about it.

Mr. Hegseth, of course, who you know, is basically a, you know, a high schooler with a new toy who humiliates himself every day and puts makes America less safe every day.

There -- there are many, many people in this cabinet, which is a kakistocracy, you know, governance by the inept. There are many people in this, this, this cabinet who should be dismissed and replaced with, people of the character of General Kelly from the first term. General Mattis, Nikki Haley, there are a number of people in the first term who would have basically served with dignity and tried very hard during their time there to provide a guardrail for Trump and prevent him from acting on his worst instincts.

Now he's accumulated a group of people who will carry out his worst instincts, and he's going to be looking for a new attorney general to replace Bondi that's in that mold.

KEILAR: Ty Cobb, we really appreciate you being with us. Thank you.

And OUTFRONT next, we have some breaking news, the Army's top general is out, told to retire immediately by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. His ouster in the middle of Trump's war with Iran. Why?

Plus, this is what Trump said one year ago when he slapped tariffs on countries across the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country. And you see it happening already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: But that hasn't happened. An OUTFRONT reality check ahead.

And we are just minutes away from a make or break moment in NASA's moon mission, the Artemis II about to do a six-minute engine burn. If successful, the four astronauts will be propelled out of the Earth's orbit and toward the moon, and you'll see it here live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:57]

KEILAR: We have breaking news. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forcing out the Army's top general amid this war with Iran. A Pentagon official telling CNN that Hegseth told General Randy George to retire immediately.

George has a career of nearly four decades. He served in the First Gulf War. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And this is the latest clash between Hegseth and senior military leadership. Hegseth pushing out about a dozen of the military's most senior officers since he took office.

This comes as CNN has significant new reporting about Iran's missile launching capabilities and just how strong their capabilities still are, despite the Trump administration saying that Iran has been decimated. Natasha Bertrand is OUTFRONT.

Natasha, tell us what you're learning.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, sources briefed on U.S. intelligence on the matter told us that roughly half of Iran's missile launchers remain intact after just over a month of U.S. military strikes on the country, as well as thousands of their one way attack drones, accounting for about 50 percent total of their drone capabilities, again, after about five weeks of war here.

We're also told that a large percentage of their coastal cruise missiles remain intact, which is a key capability which has allowed the Iranians to threaten shipping in that very key route of the Strait of Hormuz. Now, you know, it's possible, according to our sources, that many of these missile launchers, or at least a portion of them, that the U.S. says have, are, are still intact, are buried underground because the U.S. has been bombing the entrances to many of these tunnels and these caves that the Iranians use to hide these ballistic and cruise missile launchers around the country.

But the idea that U.S. intelligence is assessing that the Iranians still have so much of this missile launch capability is very significant here. And we should note that the White House and the pentagon, they have repeatedly released statements pointing to the fact that the Iranians drone and missile launches themselves, the number of missiles that they are launching has dropped over the last several weeks.

But the question of how many actual launchers the Iranians still retain is very key, because, of course, if they retain those launchers and they are still going to be able to launch missile attacks, and one reason why those missile launches may have decreased, rather than because of any kind of U.S. military activity, could just be because, according to sources we spoke to, the Iranians are strategically holding back a lot of their stockpile, and they are successfully moving around a lot of these capabilities in a way that makes it very difficult for the U.S. to track.

So, President Trump said about two to three more weeks of this, our sources said that its likely would have to take a lot longer to actually decimate and take out all of their capabilities that the U.S. has said is their goal.

KEILAR: Very important reporting. Natasha, thank you.

And OUTFRONT now, Seth Jones and Karim Sadjadpour.

Seth, first, just your reaction to that half of Iran's missile launchers intact, half of their drone capability, a lot of their coastal missile capability, that is a lot.

SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: It is a lot. And, you know, in addition, Brianna, to what Natasha just outlined, I just pulled the numbers from Iranian attacks at Israel and multiple Gulf states. And it does indicate that the Iranians still have significant capabilities.

On March 31st, for example, the Iranians fired 14 ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia. On April 1st, 23 missiles and drones at Bahrain. On April 1st, 40 at the United Arab Emirates. On April 1st, also 18 at Kuwait, and then much larger numbers as well at Israel. And then when you add in 51 Hezbollah claimed attacks at Israel on March 31st, and then the Houthis with a pretty substantial arsenal of land attack and anti-ship cruise missiles.

I mean, you put all that math together and that's just one day. You're -- you're up well over 100, closer to 200 total attack missiles and drones. So, I mean, that is the high pace were still seeing, I think is indicative of what Natasha just outlined.

KEILAR: And, Karim, of course this is coming as we are reporting that Defense Secretary Hegseth told the Army's top general, Randy George, to retire immediately in the middle of a war. How might that register for Iranian officials that the U.S. is forcing out the Army's top general as thousands of additional service members are deployed to the region?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Brianna, this war has exhibited the remarkable military professionalism of the U.S. government. This is a battle. Notwithstanding what was just reported, that their missiles have been perhaps degraded less than we thought. But the United States has been dominating Iran militarily, where we've been losing is the information war and the political war.

And President Trump's speech last night in which he said that he would bomb Iran back to the stone age, was a very good example. America's greatest allies against the government of Iran, not the people of Iran. And this 47-year U.S. cold war -- Iran cold war is not going to end until we have different leaders in Iran.

So, we need the Iranian people on our side. You want to try to inspire the people of Iran, mobilize them, threatening to bomb the country back to the stone age is insulting for many Iranians, and it allows the regime to use nationalism against the United States rather than trying to support the nationalism of Iranian people against the regime.

KEILAR: And Seth, I know that you've interacted with General George recently.

What do you think is behind his removal as army chief of staff?

JONES: Well, Brianna, let me first say that that, you know, I've gotten to know General George over the years. I was in Afghanistan with him when he was a colonel, for example, in Wardak province. I've always been deeply impressed by his strategic acumen, his grasp of the changing character of war. He was in Ukraine recently to learn lessons on how drones, for example, and electronic warfare is being used in combat.

And he's been trying to change the army into an army that can conduct warfare in the next stage. There have been a number of controversial incidents over the last few weeks. The army investigation of helicopters that were at Kid Rock's home, the Pentagon secretary's block promotions of black and female officers.

It's not entirely clear what the one or several reasons were, but I would just say this finally, that, the sheer number of general and flag officers that have been removed and not been told why is deeply disturbing, because what it starts to suggest is that individuals are being fired and replaced based on factors like political loyalty rather than combat effectiveness. And that is deeply disturbing.

KEILAR: Karim, I want to highlight something that French President Emmanuel Macron has said he's publicly attacked the president's messaging on the war. Let's listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): This is not a show. We're talking of peace, of war. We're talking about the lives of men and women. When we want to be serious, we don't say each day the opposite of what we said the day before. Perhaps we don't need to speak every day

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Karim, how does Iran see these fissures in these western allies, U.S. allies not backing Trump up?

SADJADPOUR: This is important, Brianna, because Iran is not only been trying to win the battle for public opinion in the United States, you know, mobilizing, trying to get American public opinion against the war. But there's also an international battle of public opinion. And two months ago, when Iran was killing thousands of its protesters, the world was united in condemnation of Iran. But at the moment, the world is broadly united against this conflict against Iran.

And that said reopening the Straits of Hormuz is not just an American priority. It's a -- it's a global priority. And so, I do think it's critical for President Trump to mobilize global public opinion to reopen this strait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Seth Jones, Karim Sadjadpour, thank you so much to both of you for the analysis.

And OUTFRONT next, before the war, Trump was touting how low the price of oil had fallen. Well, today, oil spiked 11 percent in just one day. Could $200 a barrel soon become a reality?

And the breaking news. The most significant moment for the Artemis II since liftoff, and you'll see it here live.

[19:30:00]

We're just minutes away from a crucial blast that will put the four astronauts officially on track toward the moon. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We have breaking news. Oil prices spiking, closing at more than $111 per barrel. That is an 11 percent increase in just one day. The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now $4.08.

This after President Trump offered no clear exit strategy for the war in Iran and no solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where ships transport about one fifth of the global oil.

OUTFRONT now, Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Austan, great to have you.

And this is a really dire warning from some oil analysts that oil could spike as high as $200 per barrel if the strait doesn't reopen soon. It's an astounding number. How seriously should we be preparing for that?

[19:35:01]

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO: Well, it's pretty serious situation. And of course, it all depends on how long it would last.

If this were a thing, that there was a spike in the price of oil, like what we've seen now, but even more, but it quickly went away. It seems like the overall impact on the U.S. economy might be limited. If this is going to be an extended period over weeks, over months or longer, you will like -- very likely see that start showing up in consumer confidence measures. You'll see it out the window when you drive by the gas station.

But there's also the hidden indirect effects. It will also affect the price of fertilizer. So you're going to have an impact on food prices. Much of the manufacturing, which is just in time manufacturing. So, at any given moment, a lot of the parts, components and supplies are being shipped from one place to another place. They will be affected, too.

So, if this is an extended increase in costs, it would be a pretty tough supply shock for the U.S. economy.

KEILAR: It has been one year, actually, to the day since Trump's so- called liberation day, which was that day where at the White House, he announced those double digit tariffs on Americas trading partners and predicted that this would happen as an adult. As a result, I should say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country. And you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, as we know, Austan, that has not happened. There are 89,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S. since Trump said that, according to his own Labor Department.

Did you think that there was any chance the president could make good on that promise? Are you surprised that this is what's happened?

GOOLSBEE: Well, at the Fed, we're out of the fiscal policy and the and the tax business, which tariffs are definitely in. So, we just take the conditions as they come and try to figure out how do we stabilize prices in this country, how do we maximize employment.

I do think we've got a little bit of an unfortunate timing that we had a series of tariff shocks coming through 2025. Inflation started kicking back up again to an uncomfortably high rate. And we were hoping that it was then going to fade and be a one-time transitory increase in inflation for the oil prices now to be rising like this before the previous one has faded out there, there can be some complications with that.

And if you look in the -- in past history, when the price of gasoline goes up a lot in a short period of time, people's expectations, consumers expectations of where inflation is going to be over the next 12 months start going up pretty significantly. And that will potentially put us into a tougher spot still.

KEILAR: With that increase since Trump's tariff announcement, you also know, you have the -- you have Bank of America warning the feds favored inflation gauge will, quote, surge imminently to a peak of nearly 4 percent this quarter and won't move back to the Fed's preferred 2 percent until next year because of the war. How worried are you that we could see that number? How do we prepare for that?

GOOLSBEE: I mean, I am concerned about that. I've been saying underneath all of this, if we could stop putting stagflationary dust in the air, I do think that there was some solidity in the economy and that we could continue growing. We're just going to have to see how this plays out.

It's adding another level of uncertainty on what as we -- as I go around the Midwest here in the Chicago Fed district, I talked to a lot of manufacturers. They have for months been talking about the impact that the uncertainty has. They say, we're just going to sit on our hands and wait until we can figure out what the rules of the road are and how things are going to play out.

I think that's contributing to why the hiring rate is so low. We're in this low hiring, low firing kind of environment. That's a reflection of uncertainty.

KEILAR: Austan Goolsbee, appreciate you being with us tonight. Thank you.

GOOLSBEE: Great to see you, Brianna. KEILAR: And OUTFRONT next, the countdown is on. Artemis II has been given the go ahead for what is the most critical step in their lunar mission so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All systems looking good here in mission control Houston. Teams have given the final go for Orion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: This is a move that will blast them straight toward the moon and you'll see it here live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:44:00]

KEILAR: Breaking news. Just moments ago, a new message from NASA's mission control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All systems looking good here in mission control Houston. Teams have given the final go for Orion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Some make or break moment for the Artemis II crew. Just minutes from now, the four astronauts on board will blast their main engine to propel the Orion spacecraft out of Earth's orbit into the next critical phase, the four-day trip to the moon. Humans, of course, have not journeyed around the moon since 1972. And this next step, which is called the TLI, the translunar injection burn, is the most significant phase of the mission yet.

And you're looking -- this is a model. Actually, this is a live picture of mission control as we're zeroed in on this. And they're going to determine if the crew on board the Orion spacecraft is ready to orbit the moon. We will show you this all important translunar injection burn live here in just a few minutes.

First, though, Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT with the incredible first day on board this historic mission.

[19:45:05]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's go time for the Artemis crew as they are about to embark on a history making path. More than 250,000 miles from planet earth.

REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: It was an amazing ride uphill. The views. We've got two moon rises that we've had so far, and the views of planet Earth, we've circled it completely and we forgot how beautiful it is to look down on earth.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The four astronauts on the Orion spacecraft, which they have named Integrity, woke up Thursday to the song "Sleepyhead".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Good morning, Artemis II crew.

WISEMAN: Houston. Integrity, we are ready to go.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The crew started their second day after sleeping in four-hour shifts and exercising on a flywheel device to do squats, deadlifts and rowing. And they're settling into an extensive food menu that includes coffee, smoothies, quiche, beef brisket, even mango salad, and couscous with nuts.

The astronauts have also changed out of their bright orange spacesuits, designed to keep them alive if there's an emergency, the suits can protect them for about six days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're called the Orion crew survival suits or OCS suits.,

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Right out of the gate, though, the astronauts had to troubleshoot a problem with the capsule's toilet. With the help of mission control, the problem was fixed and strategically, the team took the capsule for a manual test drive and has successfully completed several maneuvers to adjust Orion's orbital path, as part of their ten-day mission.

But now, the Artemis crew is gearing up for the biggest moment of the mission yet. The translunar injection burn. This is the moment that will set Artemis II on its path to fly around the moon.

NASA officials have said it's a go, and the Artemis crew is preparing to start the translunar injection burn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The delta V for that burn will be 1,275 feet per second.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Which will set them on the path to circumnavigate the moon, where no humans have traveled since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

It's a historic moment for NASA, as the space agency chases the dream of creating a lunar base that will ultimately lay the groundwork to explore Mars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the first time in over 50 years, humans join the deep space network.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, Brianna, we are just moments away, minutes away from this happening right now. The Orion spacecraft is being positioned in just to the right place. It has been on this orbit several thousand miles away from the Earth. But now, as it's coming back around, it is going to be within about 115 miles of the earth's surface. And when that ignition sets off, it will last to close to six minutes. And that is when the spacecraft will be venturing out into deep, deep space. More than 250,000 miles away.

And every indication we're getting as we continue to monitor the NASA feed here is that everything is a go. And we are just now minutes away.

KEILAR: All right. Ed, stay with us as we have just been told or learned that we are a little less than three minutes away from this.

And as we await that, let's bring in Cady Coleman, former NASA astronaut and retired Air Force colonel who has spent more than 180 days in space. And we have our Tom Foreman with us as well.

Colonel Coleman, this is a pivotal moment. Just explain to us how pivotal and what the translunar injection burn is.

CADY COLEMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, I think it did a really nice job of helping us understand that they're basically firing their engines in exactly the same the right place and with the right power to then propel them away from the earth, and then close enough to the moon to be captured by the moon's gravity. They will swing around and then they will come home. And in doing that, they will go, I think, 4,400 miles on past the moon, the furthest that humans have ever, ever been in a people sense.

I mean, so this is -- I mean, this is the beginning of their lunar journey when you hear the NASA people saying, you know, we are going with the Artemis campaign, this is what this means when you do this burn, they are going to the moon.

KEILAR: And Colonel --

COLEMAN: In the human sense, I can only wait to see.

KEILAR: Yeah. And, Colonel, this is -- this is really dependent on such specific math, right, that they've done about where their position is and the angle, because this is the shot they have at this. Can you talk to us about how they have figured that out?

COLEMAN: Well, I'm going to say probably not in that there are -- there are folks who think that is exactly their job. And, you know, we've been learning how to target things for many, many years since the early part of the space program. And the math doesn't change, but understanding the equipment that we use to make it happen and using more and more modern and efficient equipment, every time you change equipment, you have to understand what you know, what does it mean to really say, let's do this for this many seconds?

[19:50:03]

Are you going to get what you expected? And that was actually part of the point of the -- of the rendezvous yesterday was understanding the capabilities of the Orion capsule. When you push the stick this far, are you going to -- what kind of response do you get? Is that when you expected. So it's not only the mathematicians and I think of the ones, you know, led by -- well, anyways, just the whole history that we have, by Katherine Coleman, I just think that it's really, really significant to realize that these people are going now today using tools that we've used before.

KEILAR: And we are just --

COLEMAN: That was Katherine Johnson.

KEILAR: Katherine Johnson and we are just a few seconds away. So, we are going to listen in a little bit here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Integrity good engine, good control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We share the same. Feels great up here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At mission elapsed time of one day one hour and 14 minutes into the Artemis II mission. As Orion was flying 115 statute miles above earth and 247,600 miles away from the moon, we have the start of the translunar injection burn that will send the crew around the moon, the first humans to do so in over 50 years.

Again, this will be a five minute and 55 zero second burn on the orbital maneuvering service engine, part of the European service module. Continuing to hear good calls here from prop in Artemis mission control in Houston, Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Integrity looking good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Integrity copies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Velocity of the spacecraft ticking up now over 23,900 miles per hour. Two minutes into this five minute and 55 zero second burn. Continuing to get good calls here in mission control. Houston from all flight controllers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Integrity, we copy the enabled caution, no crew action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Integrity copies.

KEILAR: All right. We are going to continue to monitor this. This will go on for several more minutes. This ILS.

And, Tom, I think what is so amazing about this. Well, first off, they're going 23,900 miles per hour. I think probably faster at this point because they\re accelerating. But there's really this almost like butterfly effect to this, right? I mean, what where they are in several days is dependent on this moment that we are watching right now.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, totally. Totally. And I want you to look at that picture. We can't see the, you know, the jetting of this engine out here in the back.

But look, they really are very close to earth right now. They've been flying this huge elliptical orbit, which has taken them very far out. But right now they're very close to earth as they head out toward the moon, and they are heading at a very fast speed.

By the way, I want to point out the engine that is driving this right now. The main engine on the service module is a repurposed engine from the Space Shuttle back in 2000, 2002, it flew six different missions. It was an orbital maneuvering engine, and it only has about 6,000 pounds of thrust. When they took off yesterday, they had eight million pounds of thrust. Then to get set up on this elliptical orbit, they had about 25,000 pounds of thrust from a unit called the ICPS.

Now, they're down to about 6,000 pounds of thrust, because that's all it takes to get this tremendous velocity going in space here. And as the colonel mentioned a little while ago, if everything keeps going well, bear in mind they have a lot of other little thrusters. They have 33 engines in all on the craft right now, most of which are used for those minor adjustments that may come into play here. as the colonel mentioned, as they work their way through all of this and hopefully enter the -- what's called the sphere of influence of the moon's gravity.

[19:55:06]

That is about one sixth of the distance from the moon to the earth. Just as gravity on the moon is about one sixth of the gravity of earth, they should enter that on Sunday when they're roughly 41,000 miles away from the moon.

So right now, as soon as they finish this, this becomes a whole lot of math, a whole lot of physics of just calculating the gravity of the earth, the gravity of the moon, and precisely where you're using those thrusters to tweak it as you essentially coast through space.

KEILAR: Yeah, just these minor. Adjustments they're making as based on all these calculations of some incredibly smart people at NASA.

And, Ed, you're there at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. And I do want to let our folks know. I mean, its listen, the signal goes in and out here from the capsule that is looking back on earth. And this ILS, this burn is about to conclude here within the next minute.

But, Ed, talk to us a little bit about its such important communication that we hear going back and forth between the capsule and mission control.

LAVANDERA: And that's one of the most crucial parts of this entire test flight really is like, you know, I've kind of likened this to setting the foundation for the Artemis program and having to make sure that every little piece of equipment, every little piece of technology works properly. And obviously communications and the, the systems that intel, I mean, think about this for a moment.

We are actually listening to astronauts talking from a space capsule, you know, several hundred miles above the earth, and they're talking to a room here in Houston, Texas, at the Johnson Space Center. I mean, it's unbelievable technology. And this technology has to now continue working for the course over the course of the next nine days, as this crew basically slingshots itself out into deep, deep space around the moon. We're at one point, they will be without communication for about 30 to 50 minutes.

So, you know, making sure that all of these systems work is part of the crucial aspect of, and one of the main missions of this particular journey that they're on, having to make sure that all of this works properly so that future missions can, can depend on them properly.

KEILAR: Ed, let's listen in for a moment as we hear this TLI, I just want to get my acronyms right as we listen in to this conclusion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, 520 miles away from earth, just five minutes ago, we were only 115 miles above earth's surface. That distance will continue to increase as we are now on a trajectory to fly around the moon for the first time in over 50 years

KEILAR: And, Cady -- Cady, this has been a successful burn here. And just to hear them talk about the amount of mileage that the burn has been successful, they're saying the mileage away from earth that has increased just with this burn over the last several minutes is pretty astounding. And they're going to put a lot of distance between themselves and Earth at this point. Can you talk to us a little bit about that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: View from the Orion spacecraft, as it looks back on earth --

COLEMAN: Well, I -- to me, looking in the picture that just that I see on your channel there, I mean, it looks like they are further away to me and it's just -- it's -- it's been so exciting just to hear this, to know that they're burning and that its going well and to hear that they had a good burn, that definitive call. They are, they are absolutely on their way.

It doesn't mean there's not going to be tweaking. As Ed was discussing, that's built in those smaller jets are there to trim up, you know, on the way to the moon and then after they swing around the moon to make sure that the way home is, is targeted as well. But it's got to be pretty thrilling for them because this -- this is -- they are going.

KEILAR: They're on their way.

And, Tom, how will they be spending their time here as they head to the dark side of the moon?

FOREMAN: Oh, they have loads of things to do every day up there. I mean, constantly checking to make sure all the systems are performing the way they should, getting in their exercise, getting in their rest. Just monitoring what's happening with this craft.

It is really important to remember this particular capsule they're in right now is sitting on top of this European built service module, which has literally miles of wiring in it. During that time, there have to be adjustments to the solar arrays out there, checking to make sure the electricity is flowing. Well, all of there's so many systems on board these things.

One description I once heard was when a spaceship takes off, a million things have to happen in a tiny bit of time, each in the perfect order. And that sort of continues even as they fly up here.

And as Colonel Coleman pointed out constantly, both on the earth and up there, rerunning the math, looking at it again and again, are we in the right place? Has anything changed? How do we adjust if we need to?

KEILAR: It's unbelievable. As the Artemis crew is staring into the void as they head for the dark side of the moon, Ed, Cady, Tom, thank you so much.

And thank you for being with us.

"AC360" starts now.