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Geopolitics Factor In A New Defense Partnership Between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States; First All-Civilian Spaceflight Orbiting Overhead; Summit One Vanderbilt Skyscraper in New York City. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired September 17, 2021 - 04:00:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz and Fridays are awesome. From the deepest depths to the soaring heights, today`s show takes us from sea

to sky and of course we`re thankful to have you watching. A new partnership has been announced between Australia, United Kingdom and the United States.

It`s called AUKUS, a combination of those three countries names and it mostly involves defense technology. AUKUS will help Australia build nuclear

powered submarines. It will reportedly deploy U.S. military planes to Australia. It will help Australia develop military technology concerning

artificial intelligence and cyber warfare. U.S. President Joe Biden says the three countries have teamed up because they believe it`s important to

ensure long-term peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

But China has criticized the new partnership, a Chinese spokesman says it undermines peace and stability in the region. That`s according to the

British Broadcasting Corporation, and another Chinese official told the Reuters` news agency that countries should quote "shake off their Cold War

mentality and ideological prejudice". Britain`s defense secretary says the partnership is not about sending a message to China, but many analysts say

it is. That by increasing their military cooperation, Australia, the UK and the U.S. are trying to limit China`s power. The communist country has been

rapidly building up its military in recent years. It`s been instructing artificial islands in the South China Sea, and claiming the waters

surrounding these islands are its own. The U.S. says China has been putting economic pressure on Australia, so the three nations involved in AUKUS are

hoping their partnership serves as a deterrent or discouragement to China`s growing power. A big part of that, Australia`s underwater capabilities in

the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGUS WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom have long been close allies, what this new trilateral

partnership known as AUKUS will do is elevate Australia`s military to be much closer to the capabilities that the U.S. and the UK has. One very

significant way in which that will happen is that the U.S. and the UK will provide Australia with incredibly sensitive and closely guarded

information, knowledge of how to build nuclear submarines. Australia is expected to build as many as eight nuclear submarines. Now with the help of

the U.S. and the UK becoming only the seventh country in the world to possess such power.

Now those weapons of war have the capacity to change the neighborhood of the Indo-Pacific region, to change the security question there because

these submarines are able to stay at sea for longer, to dive deeper, to move faster. Increase powers to evade detection and of course they can

carry greater weapons payloads. However, President Biden and Prime Ministers Johnson and Morrison were at pains to say that that weapons

payload will not include nuclear weapons. Here`s what Scott Morrison had to say about that on Thursday.

SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: To stress again, this is about propulsion. This is not about acquiring nuclear weapons. Australia has no

interest in that. No plans for it, no policy for it, no contemplation of it. It`s not on our agenda.

WATSON: Now this is not a short-term arrangement that Australia has entered into with the U.S. and the UK. It will take at least 18 months, four

technicians from the U.S. and UK to discuss with Australia how to move forward with this nuclear propelled submarine plan. And it could be until

the 2040s` that these nuclear submarines join the Australian navy in service in the Indo-Pacific region. This region which the United States and

Australia, in particular, are saying grows more dangerous by the day as China continues to assert itself. Angus Watson, CNN, Sydney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. A duck, a rooster and a sheep made history as the first travelers on what? Is it a Subway, Space capsule, Biplane or Hot-Air

Balloon? In 1783, these animals took and survived the first flight in a hot-air balloon.

Continuing our "Civilians in Space" theme from this week, four people are currently orbiting the Earth in a SpaceX rocket and none of them is a

professional astronaut. This isn`t the first time civilians have gone into orbit. It is the first time they`ve done that without a seasoned astronaut

onboard. Does this mean this kind of opportunity will soon be available to you and me? Probably not. One of the travelers, a 38-year-old billionaire

personally paid for this trip and it likely cost him more than $200 million. Along for the ride are a St. Jude Children`s Hospital physician`s

assistant, an employee of the Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company and a community college teacher. They blasted off together on Wednesday and were

scheduled to come back to Earth on Saturday, though the weather could affect that. They`ll sleep in their launch seats, skip showers and likely

share a very unique bond for years to come. Rachel Crane caught up with the civilian travelers before their historic flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel pressure to, you know, make this successful and pave the way for civilian, you know,

future civilian astronauts?

JARED ISSACSON, SPACEX CIVILIAN CREW MEMBER: I wouldn`t say pressure, because pressure would mean, like, I`m -- I`m nervous about the outcome

here. I think that responsibility is really the word. Right? And that this is a big responsibility, and we have to execute really well and get this

right, so that the door can stay open for all the other missions to follow.

CRANE: Hayley, what did your doctor say to you when you told them that you were going to embark on this journey? Was there, like, you`re crazy?

HAYLEY ARCENEAUX, SPACEX CIVILIAN CREW MEMBER: Not at all. So, I texted my orthopedic surgeon, right before my announcement and I just said I had some

really big news to share. And we both (inaudible) together and so, I met up with him and I said, you know in a few days you can brag that you put the

first artificial joint in space, and he just kept saying how proud he was. He kept hugging me and he`s here to watch the launch tomorrow with his

family.

CRANE: The media has deemed you guys ordinary people, doing something extraordinary, but that`s why so many people are -- feel connected to this

mission. Do you think though that that description is accurate?

CHRIS SEMBROSKI, SPACEX CIVILIAN CREW MEMBER: I, kind of, feel like it does. I mean, you could have put a group of people together from all over

the country and you would still have a set of unique stories behind each person. So, I -- I think when you think of the word ordinary, you`re not

necessarily thinking of bland, boring people because everyone has an extraordinary story. We are just the lucky few that have the extraordinary

opportunity to be together and to share in this -- this incredible journey.

DR. SIAN PROCTOR, SPACEX CIVILIAN CREW MEMBER: For me being the oldest and the most seasoned here, you know, I -- I -- I think it`s about not giving

up in your dreams, having resilience and grit and determination. And so, I -- I know I have a lot of friends and colleagues who are in their 50s` and

60s` and, you know, sometimes you feel like the best parts of your life have passed you by, but that`s not the case. There`s so much life still

worth living in your "Golden Ages" and I like to think that that this is an example of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Among the skyscrapers of New York City, there are many breathtaking views. This one is more three-dimensional. Summit One Vanderbilt is one the

highest observatories in the city. It`s got a lot of glass, and it`s not just used in the balconies, the outdoor space, the elevators. This building

features an art exhibit that has mirrors on the floor, the ceiling and three sides, and they have so many reflections that people say you can`t

tell what`s real.

Others may "scrape" by, by simply "scraping" the sky, but those who "Vanderbuilt" this one gave you the views of a "fly" with compound "eyes"

that "visualize" the summit from every angle. The new "fangled" and "dangled" metals that "bemuse" and "bespangle". It`s a sight for sore

"eyes" except for "light" and "height" fears that reflects you and vantage points using "glass, smoke and mirrors". Whew. Now that we are through

that, we want to give a shout out to North Fayette Valley High School. Our viewers watching from West Union, Iowa. My name is Carl Azuz. I host CNN.

Hope you have a great weekend.

END