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CNN 10
Winter Storm Strikes Just After Start of Fall; Spaceflight Company Unveils New Prototype; CNN Hero Series
Aired September 30, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz at the CNN Center. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us on this last day of
September 2019. Officially we are only one week into fall in the Northern Hemisphere but a winter storm has descended over the Rocky Mountains.
North America`s longest range stretches roughly 3,000 miles from western Canada all the way down to New Mexico. It`s in the northern United States
that a storm system is bringing huge amounts of snow and forecasters say if their predictions pan out this could break records and it already has in
some parts of Montana.
In Great Falls for example, 9.7 inches of snow fell on Saturday. The previous record was only 3.6 inches and that was set in 1954 but that`s
only part of the story, other areas of the state have gotten as much as three feet of snow. The governor has declared a state of emergency to
speed up help to those who need it. Dangerous road conditions, fallen trees and power lines, homes without electricity when people want it for
heat, those are some of the storm`s impacts on humans, and a record cold for this time of year also threatened cattle and crops. A CNN
meteorologist says it`s not unusual for some parts of Montana to get snow in September, what`s shocking this time around is the amount of it.
The last time a winter storm struck with this much snow this early was in 1934. That was the record and this system could beat it. It`s not just
bringing a whitened winter wonderland, the gusts of wind that were blasting Montana Sunday were expected to be between 35 to 45 miles per hour. Add
that to blowing snow, and you have white out, near blizzard conditions according to the National Weather Service. It expects that from Montana,
the storm is expected to move eastward over the northern plain states and the U.S.-Canada border and the cold it leaves behind is expected to be 15
to 30 degrees below average in the U.S. northwest. Though above average temperatures are expected to stay in place from other parts of the plains
to the U.S. east coast.
10 Second Trivia. When a planet is at its farthest point from the sun, it is said to be at what? Apogee, Perigee, Aphelion, or Aphidian. Aphelion
is the farthest orbital point from the sun and perihelion is the closest.
Another term that some rocket scientists are discussing is Starship and nothing`s going to stop us from explaining why. Starship is the name of a
prototype spacecraft. It was unveiled over the weekend by Space X. The private space flight company is also working on the rocket booster that
would blast Starship off the ground and in theory as many as 100 passengers could be onboard headed to the moon or Mars or beyond, but it could be
awhile before that happens and there are signs NASA is getting a little impatient. It`s given Space X and Boeing billions of dollars with the
expectation that the companies would be flying spacecraft with crews on them by 2017.
That didn`t happen. And though a Space X capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station earlier this year, the spacecraft was
destroyed a few weeks later when a failure occurred during a ground test. Still Space X and its CEO Elon Musk are pressing on saying reusable
spacecraft like Starship will be key to getting people in space and doing it more affordably.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Your goal has always been to make us a multiplanetary species.
ELON MUSK, CEO OF SPACE X: Yes.
CRANE: To establish a colony on Mars, tonight - - today the unveiling of Starship. Is that a turning point in that mission?
MUSK: Yes. I think this is the first time we have real hardware of something that is capable, with a little evolution, of - - of being
something that could create a self-sustaining city on Mars and a base on the moon. Absolutely.
CRANE: You said tonight that you might be flying people in a year in this thing?
MUSK: If the development continues to improve exponentially, then I think we could - - we could be sending people to orbit before the end of next
year. You know, within a year approximately.
CRANE: But Space X hasn`t put a human in space yet. How are you guys going to do this in a year?
MUSK: Well we will be putting people into orbit soon. We will be transporting astronauts for NASA in probably, I don`t know, three or four
months to the Space Station .
CRANE: Yes. On that point, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted yesterday saying he was very excited about the event today but he also said
quote "commercial crew is years behind schedule and it`s time to deliver". Did you take that - -
MUSK: Did he say commercial crew or SOS?
CRANE: He said commercial crew.
MUSK: Oh, OK. Jeez.
CRANE: I mean, interchangeable. But no, how do you respond to that? And did you take that as a dig?
MUSK: Well I mean, first of all, everything in aerospace is years behind. OK? It`s really a question of relatively speaking which one is more late.
CRANE: Yes.
MUSK: So, the hardware for the how to abort demonstration for Crew Dragon will be there in October. The hardware for the first crew flights will be
there in November. And so most of the work that is required from now through flight of NASA astronauts is a - - a long series of safety reviews.
So it`s - - it`s not really hardware related and its really going as fast as we can make it go. If there`s some way to make if go faster, I would
make it go faster.
CRANE: Let`s talk about funding. You`ve said in the past that Starship would cost between $2 and $10 billion. You still looking at that price
tag?
MUSK: I think it`s actually - -
CRANE: You laugh.
MUSK: Yes. Yes. It`s a - - a big range. I - - I mean I think it`s probably closer to $2 or $3 million than it is to $10 million.
CRANE: Is that because of the switch to steel?
MUSK: The switch to steel is quite - - is fundamental and I think that`s literally may - - that might be the best design decision I`ve ever made. I
can`t think of a better one. The steel is lighter than the carbon fiber solution or lighter than the (inaudible) solution and costs 2 percent as
much. I mean, I really view what we`re doing here as making like multiplanetary as opposed to escaping earth. I mean, I think like 99
percent of our resources should be on making sure that the future on earth is good. I think at least one percent of our resources should be on - - on
making life multiplanetary and extending conscientious out to - - to other planets. Both the defensive reason of - - of preserving the light of
conscientious into the future as well as the - - the adventure, the excitement. I find personally more motivating than the - - the defensive
argument.
CRANE: Yes. So you prefer to be an optimist rather than pessimist?
MUSK: I mean, I think excitement and adventure and a sense of possibility about the future are incredibly important otherwise why live?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Last time we caught up with CNN Hero Stan Hayes was in the months following Hurricane Harvey and Hayes non-profit organization was in
Houston, Texas bringing fresh barbecue meals to hungry people. He`s a grand-champion pit master, a barbecue expert. He has thousands of
volunteers who`ve helped him deliver food to survivors and first responders and in the wake of Hurricane Dorian which hit the northern Bahamas on the
first of this month. Operation BBQ Relief was at it again crossing a milestone in the number of meals it`s delivered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAN HAYES, CNN HERO: We are here today in Fort Lauderdale where we`re getting ready to ship over to the Bahamas 10,000 meals. This is our first
international mission that we`ve taken. Our 3 millionth meal since we started the organization in 2011 is going over on this plane, for us that`s
a huge milestone. Two million was almost a year ago exactly when we were in Wilmington, North Carolina but we`re going to provide, you know, that
one meal that matters our 3 millionth time.
So right there that`s got the orange wrapping on it. That`s the 3 millionth meal. We`re going to be shipping these meals on a 1944 World War
II era C-47 and this is a - - a mid-sized cargo plane from back in the day. We hate to see disasters happen but we`re so blessed that we can provide
them comfort through a good hot barbecue meal. The folks there that just need a hot meal. They need a lift up and that`s what these meals are.
You bet. Thank you sir. If it takes their mind away from what`s happening to them for a few minutes, it means a lot. Three million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my goodness. Yay.
HAYES: It`s not just the meals that we done today but the meals that we`re going to continue to do and we`re going to be here for many more weeks
probably helping feed the Bahamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: It is one thing to move to a historic home. It`s another thing to move a historic home. That`s what`s happening here after the buyer of a
255 year old mansion in Maryland relocated it 50 miles away. It was built to last and to float. We don`t know how much the house was built for but
it was sold recently for $500,000, obviously plus moving expenses. The new owner says he plans to restore it and give it to his parents.
Who shouldn`t mind if their son barges in because the house has been "barged on". It could have been featured on "Beachfront Bargedon Hunt".
Gives new meaning to "waterfront real estate" making you feel like you`re "on the river" because "you`re on the river". And while some historic
homes are remarkable for still standing, this one`s "moving" and "sailing" and it brings us home sweet home on CNN.
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