Original subtitles

The sun is shining and hope is in the air.

In less than a month, four regular American

civilians will lift off in a SpaceX rocket.

29-year-old Hailey Arsenault is one of those four.

My alarm went off this morning and my first thought

was, I'm going to be on the Today Show today.

I'm just doing this full-time sanctioned ambassador, astronaut training role.

And so that's come with a lot of interviews just to

get the word out about our mission, the fundraising.

I didn't expect all of the media and all of the attention

on this big scale when I got this phone call to go to space.

I remember in the phone call they said, oh, it'll come with some media.

And I was like, well, that's not unexpected.

I didn't realize the amount.

It's a lot.

It was one day a few weeks ago that I did 44 interviews in six hours.

And I was beat after that day.

I was like, I don't think I'm a celebrity if

I'm going to the Today Show with a camera crew.

As much as, like, I don't really want all that, like the spotlight and things,

like, I love talking about St. Jude.

We have a huge goal.

$200 million is not easy to achieve.

I want to raise.

And I've actually really taken it personally that I want to raise that money.

This is why we're going to space.

It's for these kids.

It's for these families.

Be honest with me.

How is the hair?

Going into especially some of the nerve-wracking

interviews, I just really think about my patients.

Think about specific ones.

And how I'm doing this for them.

We're all doing this for them.

We are so excited to have Haley Arsenault joining us here in Studio One.

Haley, you're about to have a lot of firsts, girl.

You are the youngest going up in space.

You are the first Cajun going up in space.

Are we right about that?

Yes.

And the first person with a prosthetic body part, too.

Yeah.

I did want to ask you about the space suit because you are rocking it.

And also the zero gravity hair is working for you.

It's, like, better than Beyonce.

How did it feel when you first put your space suit on?

I felt like I'm an actual astronaut.

I'm going to space.

This is happening.

Congratulations.

We'll be watching.

We can't wait.

I'm very aware that I'm the luckiest person in the world.

So wild.

Today's show is just tagging me on Twitter.

I think I'm the only person ever to just get a

phone call saying, hey, do you want to go to space?

I didn't apply for anything.

I never saw this in my future.

And here I am.

All right.

This is officially the first run of Inspiration Force fighter jet training weekend.

Welcome.

Why are we doing all this?

Part of this is creating, like, a very dynamic and stressful environment

without actually sending people up into space.

It's going to be a lot of Gs.

It's not going to be the kind of Gs that we've experienced in the centrifuge.

These are going to be the ones that really hurt.

The fighter jet training was a dream come true for me because, as a kid,

I wanted to be a fighter pilot.

We will stop if anyone is not feeling well.

But just remember, like, you don't get to stop when we're in space.

We're in Falcon 9 and Dragon, right?

If you are feeling sick and you want to try and

bustle through it, I think everybody's got vomit bags.

It's great that we're going to have Inspiration Force people here.

We've got SpaceX people here.

We've got our team on the ground.

And we've got family.

The motivation for bringing families out, it

really is just, it can be stressful for family.

So it helps, like, I think the family members understand a

little bit about what their loved ones are going through.

And it's also just a nice thing for families, too, to come out and have some fun.

All right.

Ready to break?

Let's do it.

Yes.

I've learned more and more about Jared over

the last few months as I've gotten to know him.

He was born to be a leader.

I've told him before, you were born to command a mission to space.

I trust him.

I trust him with my life.

You continue to impress me.

And I'm not just telling you that.

It's like, it just instills confidence.

Appreciate it.

We're going to get it really nailed by the third go.

My kids are going up today.

Okay, good.

We'll take good care of them.

Every time my family can see me, our crew, especially in action,

like, my mom has told me she feels more and more comfortable.

Hayden, have so much fun.

That's right.

I think I was more excited for Hayden.

I'm really excited for you.

He was always into space.

And so whenever I have these moments where I can share

something with him, it's really meaningful to me.

I think it was just so cool to have my wife there.

And she takes on so many challenges with me not being home

and taking on this whole responsibility of being that parent.

Back at the house, she's been so supportive.

I can say this with 100% honesty that I have

grown to love every single member of this crew.

They've become like our family, too.

And it's not just them.

It's their family.

It's their friends.

We are going through this together.

I feel so fortunate that I got to bring my brother, Chris.

This is what I do.

You got it.

This is what I do.

You just get to come along for the ride.

Exactly.

And I love it.

He was so happy to get this experience.

Whenever you have time, I have a pre-brief before our flight.

A pre-brief.

I have some very specific things I want to talk to you about.

Okay.

I'm ready.

Okay.

My pilot was Kidd.

And I love that he was my pilot because he's a former Thunderbird.

He has a really impressive aviation career behind him.

And I've gotten to know him so well over the past year.

I have three main goals.

Okay.

All right.

I want to pull some high Gs.

High Gs.

How many?

Yes.

As much as you can pull, I want to feel all the Gs.

Okay.

So two.

Okay.

I want to do a lot of flips.

Gs.

Rolls.

And then three.

I want to take control.

If we can, we'll get you stick time.

Kidd has been calling me the G monster since centrifuge training.

So I wanted to hit even more than I hit in centrifuge.

He's always hounding on you.

What?

I'm hounding on you to bring her back safely.

Of course I'm hounding on you.

I know.

Okay.

She also does this when I like drive after midnight.

Yes, I do.

Yeah.

We'll take care of her.

It's going to be fun.

I know you will.

I trust this guy.

I trust you.

The idea was let's expose crew members to a lot of Gs in a very physically demanding

environment.

NASA astronauts have T-38s.

They've had it since the beginning of the program, and it's a big part of every

astronaut's training is getting in those type of jets and really putting on the Gs.

Can they push through when they're feeling really poorly at that moment?

Because you don't get to turn Falcon off when you're going uphill to space.

Three, two, one.

When we launch on Falcon 9, we're going to be experiencing five, six Gs.

Same on the way downhill when you're doing this

giant breaking event as you re-enter the atmosphere.

That's a lot of Gs too.

And then if there's ever a launch escape

scenario, that can get upwards of 20 Gs or more.

So no matter like what experiences you've had in life at an amusement park or a

rollercoaster, you are not getting anywhere close to feeling what those Gs are like.

There's only two ways you're simulating anything close to that on Earth.

You're either doing it in a centrifuge or you're doing it in a fighter jet.

You're either doing it in a centrifuge or you're doing it in a glider jet.

All right, here we go.

Good.

Okay, hailing.

You ready?

Let's do this.

We took off and then we hit the active burner.

Pulled straight up, which was awesome.

Wow, wow.

That is so awesome.

Okay, I'm ready.

Okay, we're going to get some jeans on.

Roger that.

Any nerves I had were like around this little

blue bag I had in the pocket down by my leg.

Would that come out?

Would that stay in?

Is the doctor really setting me up for success with the medicine he's prescribed?

Ready?

Ready.

Oh my God.

Okay, G-Monster, let's do this.

I'm ready.

This is me and my commander, Rook, and we are tearing up the skies together.

And he had the confidence to say, it's your control.

Handing me the stick of a MiG-29?

Are you freaking kidding me?

That's the best.

That's great.

Are you kidding me?

This is amazing.

Really?

Yes.

Take control of the stick and fly the aircraft.

Okay.

Oh my God.

You want to roll the deck?

Sure.

What do I do?

Just nose it up like this.

And then push it all the way to the edge.

Like this.

Okay?

Okay.

All right.

So pinch up.

You got the control.

Pull up.

And then all the way down the side.

All right.

Part of the time.

Part of the time.

There you go.

Fantastic.

This is so cool.

How are you doing back there?

Okay.

Oh, I'm done just fine.

You didn't have to use the bag, did you?

Negative.

Negative on the bag.

Oh, that's great, dude.

Great job.

Okay.

Haley?

Barrel roll.

I'm excited.

He granted all my wishes.

We hit eight G's, which I think is the most anyone hit that weekend.

I texted my orthopedic surgeon.

And I just thought, I'm going to get this done.

I loved every minute of it.

I hope I get the chance to do it again.

It was just so exciting to be there.

It felt like a reward because we had worked really hard in training.

Just about a month away from launch.

It's a time where you want to spend a little bit more time with your family.

You want them to hear all the stories.

Meet all the people that we're spending time with every day.

It's great that we can do these things together.

My mom was talking to Jared and just saying how much she trusts him.

And she knows this mission is going to go really well.

And Colleen can be kind of hard on people.

Most importantly, it felt like that this particular weekend in Montana was an

opportunity to celebrate the cohesion of the team.

And really just celebrated inspiration for being what it is.

And looking forward to the launch in just a short time.

And so like... Wait, wait, it's on the ceiling?

The bathroom is on the ceiling.

There's like literally a panel that we take off and then there's like a funnel.

So you pee upside down?

There's no upside down in space.

I think the majority of the questions my friends had were like at first like,

well, are you going to put on makeup in space?

And, and like, how are you going to sleep in space?

And just all like the practical questions of like, how is this going to work?

I've really been touched at how supportive everyone has been.

I had dinner with one of my best friends last night and she's like, you know,

she's like, you're going to be fine because you're on a Falcon 9 rocket.

And that is the safest rocket they have.

And like, she didn't like, she would never have

known the words Falcon 9 a couple of months ago.

And now she's like researched all the rockets.

She knows I'm on the safest one.

I thought that was just the sweetest thing.

A couple of my friends had the idea to have like a bon voyage party.

For me, the name of the party is my friends came up with this.

Let's get lit for a lift off.

You know, there's been no other American astronauts in their twenties.

This is what we do.

I'm a 29 year old going to space.

And at the end of the day, I'm like, I'm 29.

Y'all are my favorite people on planet earth.

Thank y'all for being there for me through space, through all the things.

I love y'all so much.

Cheers.

This group has been there for me through so many big events in my life.

I'll say that party, carried a little bit of weight because I knew it was the last

time I was seeing a lot of these friends before launch.

Hayley's unique.

And I knew that right from the start.

She's just one of those.

That you're just instantly drawn to.

Just a true light, you know, and such a go-getter.

When I met her, like, she inspired me to be so much better.

And she's still done.

It's like, that's why I love her.

She's like this outgoing, fun person.

I love being around her.

She makes me so happy.

Oh, my gosh!

Y'all, it's me!

Inspiration for SpaceX.

This is amazing.

I'm so excited.

I think I'm most excited for her excitement.

And I see that passion in her, just being that example of positivity and hope.

She's having my little niece, and then she's gonna come to my lunch.

I'll be your baby, dude.

I really thought about, throughout the whole party, I'm going to space.

This is my last time seeing my friends before I go to space.

But it didn't feel sad.

It felt exciting, and my friends were so excited.

And their energy was palpable.

And we just had a celebration.

She's gonna go out there.

It's gonna be awesome.

And I'm gonna give her the biggest hug when she comes back.

I don't really think she needs luck.

Hailey's not... Hailey's not one that needs luck.

She portraits her own way.

Some have told me they're a little nervous.

But they also say that they feel confident because of how confident I am.

I thought I would be nervous by now.

But I don't feel nervous at all.

Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid.

This is the final stretch of their training.

I really enjoy seeing their confidence grow as they start

mastering the difficult tasks, the emergency operations.

Smoke detected.

Alright, that's a real fire response.

Let's get our rest on.

Dragon SpaceX, we see fire and pressure section.

Execute your MRI response.

What the hell is wrong with this?

What the hell is wrong with this?

There we go.

At this time, I will just pause here.

And end this first drill and we're going to do it again.

We're doing long days every day at SpaceX.

We have an immense amount of trust in them.

We have immense trust in Sarah.

We know we're in good hands.

We're changing perceptions about who can go to

space and how you can end up going to space.

But with that, we need to be successful.

We need to make sure we're doing it safely and that we

are approaching the problem from the right direction.

I think it is the next step in many ways changing the world.

We met the first day of college.

I was too sensitive to talk to her so I didn't

say a word to her for the next three years.

Because she was pretty.

And I'm an engineer.

First day of college.

And turned around and Lois was sitting there.

Very cute guy sitting there.

We swapped numbers and eventually started dating.

And then both got super lucky and got jobs at the same place together.

So it worked out.

You see a lot of folks that are couples that are both

at SpaceX because it's how they both cope with it.

We get to talk about working at home and we both understand.

Because we both experience almost all the same things.

I think we understand each other better for it.

I haven't driven at home.

Of course I haven't.

I think it is hard to leave work sometimes.

I think it comes in waves though.

Like when there's a huge push to get a crew to

launch or a huge milestone that's coming up.

You probably live with it more than otherwise.

Oh I killed it.

What?

Nailed it.

Oh it's a little bit hanging out.

I'll be back.

You nearly got it.

It's hard to do as you get close to launch.

But all the people that are here and all the people that

we work with in this family get what you're going through.

Get through, understand the pressure.

And so it's, I think it's a break for everybody which is super important.

How can we help since we're just drinking wine over here?

Just drinking wine, doing nothing.

I love the people that I work with.

And this is just a small group of people that are here tonight.

But all the people that are here get it.

The people that I get to work with day after

day are the reason that I keep coming back.

So would you like some wine now?

SpaceX and Inspiration4Crew are jointly creating this mission.

So it's almost a work of love, of passion together to jointly create this thing.

And it's good to have a healthy amount of

nervousness that drives us to just be better.

And I think that starts right now.

So that when the mission comes, we've closed out all our worries so that

those aren't issues that we're carrying forward.

There's basil, there's red sauce, there's bruschetta.

Or barbecue sauce.

You feel a little pressure?

Go on, like pizza or ravioli.

Sarah Gillis, she is probably one of the most

professional and intelligent people I've met.

She is highly motivated and concerned about our safety.

You know, she's probably had a few strokes throughout this whole process.

But she has taken it with grace.

As you start getting this close to launch, it's

double checking and triple checking what you've done.

That's probably my worst fear is having missed something.

I guess it helps having Louis because we can talk about things.

So it actually maybe helps us let things go faster.

Because you can come home, you can decompress, but you have somebody you can

talk to what you went through that day with.

Oh, it looks so good.

Cheers.

It's hot in here.

So good afternoon everybody here in Hawthorne

and across all of our SpaceX facilities, welcome.

And a huge welcome to our Inspiration4 crew.

This mission in particular is super exciting.

This is our first all-civilian mission to

space, our first commercial astronaut mission.

This is a huge step towards making life multi-planetary.

So thank you again guys.

As we get closer to launch day, I just keep feeling more ready and more confident.

Just getting to know the crew even more.

Just getting to know the crew and do everything with this team right here.

And having this extension of my family up here

on stage, that's been one of the best parts.

Initially, you know, you come in and you're like, wait, who are these people?

We really do enjoy each other's company.

So I'm curious what the crew is bringing with them as personal items.

Well, I was born on Guam because my dad worked for the Apollo missions.

And my dad got Neil Armstrong's autograph.

So I have been dreaming about being able to take that with me to space.

Not knowing that it would ever, ever come true.

Space has been a part of me my entire life.

But not just me, but my siblings.

I was 19 when my father passed away.

And my brother Langley has been there for me ever since.

He has just been the best big brother that I could ever, ever hope for.

I've always idolized him.

And then, like I said, he's just always been there for me.

So the fact that he is coming from Australia to support me and go into

quarantine with me and to be there for me means the world.

About the last four years or so, I've only seen Cyan about three times.

But over the last two years, not at all.

I'm based in Australia and travel is very difficult in and out of Australia.

But my wife just goes, this is so important.

If you can't come back, you'll have to just stay in the States and have to be here.

There's no way I'd give my life.

We moved a lot because of my father's different roles and work.

His main focus was on the Apollo missions.

My dad, he was a self-educated person.

He taught himself calculus, physics, chemistry.

And that just led to him getting a job with NASA.

You know, at a very early age in his life.

He didn't have any college or schooling around this.

And when my dad explained in the interviews for NASA, I just taught myself.

These people couldn't believe you taught yourself how to do calculus.

He did the impossible.

Being black and getting a job in 1959 for NASA.

And so young.

I mean, he was 19 years old.

We moved to Guam and he worked at this remote tracking station.

And that's the one that really helped save the lives of the Apollo crew.

Coming back from the moon, Houston was unable to track where the Apollo 11

spaceship was going and where it was going to land.

So my dad worked with the team there on Guam because

they had the tracking station that was working.

They mapped it out.

And then he was able to calculate where they were going to land in the ocean.

And he sent the ships there.

Unofficial splash time, 195 hours, 18 minutes, 21 seconds.

Crews reported to Airbus that they're in excellent condition.

Afterwards, the Apollo 11 team flew over to Guam to thank him.

And Neil Armstrong signed a thank you to my dad.

To Ed, thanks for all the help.

Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11.

My brother Langley got the Neil Armstrong

autograph because he said he was the oldest.

Even though I was a finalist for the NASA astronaut selection process.

But he is bringing it over from Australia

for me to be able to pack and bring to space.

It's been with our family everywhere we lived, all across the U.S.

And then I brought it over to Australia and had

to come back because it has to go into space.

It has to be part of this mission.

It's just a family history.

We've dreamed about this since the start.

And to actually achieve it is worth...

It's worth our lives.

It's what we love.

It's what we love.

I'm so excited about this and I just can't wait to see her.

Don't hurt yourself.

I'm not hurting myself, you know.

Oh, my head, because... Oh, my God!

I can't believe it!

He's crazy.

Hi, Langley.

Oh, my God.

It's so good to see you.

The thing that makes me so proud is...

She's always had this dream of going into space.

She's wanted it since she was born.

It's just in her heart.

I'm just happy she did it.

She did what she really actually wanted to achieve for her life.

The medal made from the eagle.

That is so awesome.

Oh.

I don't want to cry, but I wish Dad was here.

I know.

But as you know, it's the most important thing in the world.

Thank you from Neil Armstrong.

To Dad.

My dad was so great.

I consider him the greatest person in the world.

He taught us to be this way.

He taught Cyan to achieve this mission.

Decades ago.

Can you believe that I get to bring it to space?

I know.

The fact that I can share my dad's legacy.

Both my parents grew up half their lives in segregation.

My dad did something.

He contributed.

And here's the proof.

And now I get to share that with the world.

I just never imagined that this is...

I'd have this opportunity.

You know.

To do this.

So... Yeah.

Well, it's here.

It's happening.

I know.

It is.

21 days to launch.

Yeah.

Yeah.

To know that my dad was able to contribute to the advancement of human space flight.

And for me now to have this opportunity.

In my way of helping to advance human space flight.

It's a dream come true.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's perfect.

Perfect.

Next, seat rotation.

Our seats have already rotated right now.

We'll contact SpaceX for seat rotation.

Nobody got... Well, so here today is SpaceX.

It's our last day of training officially before we fly down to Kennedy Space Center.

And get ready to get strapped into space.

Let's get into the real deal and go launch next week.

Preparation for LES arming.

Group check for LES arming.

Go.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Okay.

Verify.

What surprised me about training is how much I've enjoyed it.

I've enjoyed feeling accomplished by how far I've come.

One of my first questions when I found out I was

going to space was, are we going to the moon?

And now I feel like I've come so far from that moment.

I'm proud of myself.

You know, while we're sad that this is our last time training at SpaceX, I think we

all feel really ready to go to space next week.

Dragon, SpaceX, go for launch.

SpaceX Dragon, go for launch.

You know, I don't want to leave.

I don't want it to end.

It's really been the best five and a half months of my life.

Five.

Four.

Three.

This was our final call from space.

This is our final call from the sim.

It's over.

Well, next up is the real thing.

But we're going pretty much right from here to KSC, getting in quarantine and

working on a bunch of stuff we need to do prior to the big day.

I haven't let you guys know yet.

I wanted to say it in person.

We met on Friday and went through all of our documentation.

We met with the MDs and the cores and we officially certified you guys for a flight.

So...

Talk to you very soon.

All right.

We'll see you down there.

See you down there.

Yeah.

Talk to you soon, man.

Talk to you soon.

Have an awesome week out there.

And we'll talk to you.

It's going to go great.

Yep.

Thank you for everything.

Thank you.

I appreciate you so much and everything that you've done for me.

Just letting you know.

You've done good.

You made us ready.

Sweet.

All right.

Let's roll.

All right.

Thanks.

Good luck, guys.

Talk soon, guys.

See you soon.

Yeah.

Thanks.

Bye.

Talk to you on Wednesday.

See you.

Bye.

Have a great weekend.

I assumed that I would get close with my crew members based on how much time I knew

I was going to spend with them, but I didn't know how much I was going to love them.

We're going through a really big thing together

that only the four of us understand is Zoom.

It's really starting to sink in.

My spacesuit has my name on it.

It's got the Inspiration4 logo on it.

This is for me.

I'm going to space.

Those things are pretty emotional if you let them sink in.

And that's why I've been pushing them off.

But you can't ignore it for forever.

I got to fly fighter jets.

I got to train to be an astronaut.

And I get to go to space.

And nobody will ever be able to take that away from me.

It's just... it's magic.

It's... I don't know.

I'm just so happy.

This is happening.

This is real.

Like, I'm not dreaming this.

We are...

ready to go.

For the day.

This is a hinge point in history.

And humanity will be forever transformed.

This is happening.

This is real.

Let's do it.

We've worked so hard.

There's no doubt in my mind that we're going to have a successful mission.

We execute really well.

There will be a lot more missions to follow.