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A Daring Mission to Space; Australian Law Protecting Out of Office Time Takes Effect; Paralympics Kicking Off in Paris. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired August 28, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, where I tell you the what, letting you decide what to think. No opinion, no
slant, just the news of the day in 10 minutes time.
Let`s get started with some news about outer space. For the first time, a four-person crew of private astronauts is set to travel into Earth`s
radiation belts to conduct the first commercial spacewalk.
This is all part of SpaceX`s Polaris Dawn mission, a suspense-filled five- day trek to parts of space no human has gone since NASA`s Apollo space program ended in 1972.
Now the mission was delayed after a helium leak was detected on a piece of equipment designed to detach from the rocket during takeoff. It`s now
scheduled to take off a day after originally planned from NASA`s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After takeoff, the four-person team is expected to travel into an oval- shaped orbit aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, high enough to plunge the vehicle and crew into the Van Allen radiation belts. The mission will also
aim to reach the highest orbit around Earth for a crewed mission, hoping to surpass the 1966 record set by NASA`s Gemini 11. Accomplishing this would
make the two female crew members the first women to complete this journey.
Almost immediately after launch, the crew will begin preparing for a high- risk spacewalk, making use of extravehicular activity, or EVA suits that SpaceX developed in just two and a half years. If successful, it would be
the first spacewalk conducted by non-government astronauts. The Polaris Dawn mission is part of a series of SpaceX flights, aiming to test new
technologies that Elon Musk`s company hopes will one day see humans live and work on other planets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s one thing to fly to space. It`s another thing to do a spacewalk. Until now,
only NASA or government astronauts have dared to venture out into the vacuum of space. But that is all set to change with SpaceX`s Polaris Dawn
mission, funded in part by billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Jared Isaacman, who first flew to space three years ago as commander of
SpaceX`s Inspiration4, the first all civilian mission to orbit.
(On camera): Jared, some people are going to see the headlines and say, you know, this is just another billionaire going on a joyride to space. But
what you are doing is actually quite different.
JARED ISAACMAN, SPACEX ASTRONAUT: The connotation is often negative, but in reality it -- it`s just people taking that resources that they`re lucky
enough to accumulate in life and try and do something positive with it for the benefit of everyone.
SARAH GILLIS, SPACEX ASTRONAUT: SpaceX has these huge objectives, and to get there, there is so much that we need to go and solve. And so Polaris is
all about accelerating the technology development.
FISHER (voice-over): Technology like the first new American made extra vehicular activity suit or EVA suit in more than 40 years. NASA has been
trying to get new ones for its astronauts for two decades. SpaceX developed this one in just two and a half years, and now the entire Polaris Dawn crew
will be testing it in space for the first time.
ISAACMAN: We are all really confident that, you know, some iteration of it is going to be worn by somebody walking on Mars someday, and -- and that
just makes it even more of a privilege to be part of it.
FISHER (voice-over): While only two members of the Polaris Dawn crew will actually leave their Dragon spacecraft, all four will be exposed to the
vacuum of space when the Dragon opens its hatch.
SCOTT "KIDD" POTEET, SPACEX ASTRONAUT: Space is literally right there as you open the hatch. And --
FISHER (voice-over): Scott "Kidd" Poteet is the mission`s pilot, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and test pilot.
(On camera): So you`ve been wanting to go to space your whole life.
POTEET: Are you calling me old?
FISHER: No.
POTEET: I`m glad I have this crew.
FISHER (voice-over): Mission specialist, Sarah Gillis is SpaceX`s lead astronaut trainer for all astronauts that fly on a Dragon, including NASA
astronauts and Jared on his first mission.
ISAACMAN: The person who`s in charge of training all the astronauts for it should have that experience themselves.
FISHER (voice-over): The final crew member is mission specialist and medical officer, Anna Menon, also a SpaceX employee whose life is now in
the hands of her coworker.
ANNA MENON, SPACEX ASTRONAUT: These are not just engineers, these are also my friends. So I know the people that are putting us on that rocket and
supporting us from the ground, and I have just the utmost trust in every single one of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia. In which of these geographical locations would you find Australia?
Oceania, Siberia, Sub-Sahara, or the Caribbean?
Oceania is your answer here. Considered by some countries as a continent, it`s the collective name for the islands scattered throughout the Pacific.
We`re headed down under to Australia now for our next story, where a new law is allowing Aussies to ignore work emails after work hours. It`s called
the right to disconnect law, and it applies to workers in any company with more than 15 people.
The law says that when employees are off the clock, they don`t have to monitor, read, or respond to any business-related contact like emails or
phone calls. With work-life balance at the top of mind for so many people working at an office, many Australians are embracing this change.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For all of Australia`s beauty and relaxed reputation, it might be hard to imagine that many people
here feel overworked. But according to some lawmakers, Australians are working an average of six weeks unpaid overtime every year. And so the
government has stepped in to protect people`s right to disconnect.
As of Monday, people won`t have to answer out of hours calls, texts or emails.
RACHEL ABDELNOUR, ADVERTISING INDUSTRY WORKER: I think it`s actually really important that we have laws like this. We spend so much of our time
connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day. And I think that it`s really hard to switch off as it is.
STOUT (voice-over): Around the world, ill-defined job expectations and constant connectivity has allowed our jobs to encroach on our private
worlds. The gray areas remain. There may be times the boss still requires an answer, but workers can now defend their right to disconnect in court if
they want to.
DAVID BRENNAN, FINANCE WORKER: We are professionals, we`re well paid, we`re expected to deliver and we feel we have to deliver 24 hours a day if we
have to. So the phone`s always on, the computer`s always on and we`re working.
STOUT (voice-over): Australians likely won`t forget work entirely after they leave the office, but more people may feel like they don`t have to be
always on, meaning more time to enjoy what is already a fortunate place to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: All right, today is the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paralympic Games, happening in Paris at the same venues we saw on display for the
Olympic Games. The athletes, or Paralympians, are grouped together by how much an impairment, like impaired muscle power or vision impairment, can
limit their activity in sport.
Some 4,000 Paralympians will be aiming for gold, and ahead of these games, I sat down with Team USA`s Oksana Masters, one of the most dominant
Paralympians the world has ever seen. A 17-time Paralympic medalist competing in both winter and summer games, she was born in Ukraine with her
body damaged from radiation poisoning from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor incident. She was adopted, moved to the USA in 1997, and she`s been an
inspiration ever since.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE (on camera): Have you ever had a perfect race?
OKSANA MASTERS, US PARALYMPIC ATHLETE: No, I`ve never had a perfect race. That`s, I think, I think a lot of athletes are chasing that perfect race,
and you know, it`s not about the gold medal is what makes the perfect race. It`s about the whole process where my first initial thought isn`t, my gosh,
I should have done this, this is what I did wrong, and all the feedback that I have to myself and criticism that I have to myself. So, yeah.
WIRE: How do you hope your journey and you have inspired others?
MASTERS: I hope that if it`s just one girl, so watching, she can look and she`s like, I can do this. I belong here. You have to see your dream and
you have to see it to actually believe it in yourself.
WIRE: Love that. How has being an athlete changed your life?
MASTERS: I think the biggest way it changed my life is it was, that was the journey for me to love myself and accept myself and see my body as powerful
and strong. It was not an overnight journey. Sports really taught me how it was OK to take my legs off in front of people and to still be powerful and
feel powerful. So, it was the journey of self-discovery and love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Our story getting a 10 out of 10 today is one you dolphinately have to see to believe. A whale-watching tour in San Diego spotted a pod of
dolphins doing some seriously fun stunts. And it was clear that the porpoises were having a whale of a time seemingly upping one another while
catching some big-time air. The video got 9 million views on the company`s Instagram. It looks like those folks had an absolutely fintastic tour.
All right, we are pumped because today is #YourWordWednesday. Your Word helping to write our show. Now, we`re changing it up to make it submission
day today. So, follow me @coywire on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Put your word and definition in the comment section of my most recent post and
we`re going to choose a winner to work into tomorrow`s show, along with a shout out to your school. So, be sure to put that in there as well.
Our shout out today goes to Lisa Academy West Middle School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Rise up. We`re halfway through the week. So, let`s just keep
grinding and shining because that`s what we do.
I`m Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
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