We caught up with the "Reading Rainbow" host in Los Angeles Thursday, and LeVar explained space exploration is inherently risky ... and every potential problem can't be anticipated, and things often don't go according to plan.
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00:00We're going to space.
00:01You know what's going on with the Starliner that they,
00:04I mean, this could literally be lost in space, the TV show.
00:07So the Starliner, which was supposed to go up
00:09on an eight-day mission, now it looks like it's gonna be
00:13an eight-month mission, that it is not gonna come down
00:16until earliest February of next year
00:20because of, I think it's a hydrogen leak on the spaceship.
00:24Again, it's a Boeing spaceship,
00:26and the first time that they've gone up like this,
00:29and Boeing is at a year.
00:31Good year, huh?
00:31So, and SpaceX is gonna go up to save it,
00:35which isn't great for Boeing.
00:37Anywho, LeVar Burton was out and about in Hollywood,
00:43and our faux-dog Melanie got him and asked him,
00:47a guy who is all about learning and all about space
00:50and knows about a lot, and he has opinions.
00:53This is all exploration.
00:56Yeah.
00:57You cannot possibly plan for every single contingency.
01:01Yeah.
01:02Believe me, the astronauts know the risk
01:05that they're taking.
01:06Space exploration is risky.
01:10Right.
01:11And in the best of circumstances, it's dangerous.
01:14But exploring the ocean.
01:15There is no but.
01:16The ocean, you can survive with the proper equipment.
01:21Space is a vacuum, baby.
01:23It's a vacuum.
01:24It's dangerous, and it's a brave endeavor,
01:28and I'm grateful to those who go up there
01:30because the research that they do up there
01:33actually contributes to life being better here on Earth.
01:36And LeVar's completely right.
01:37I mean, they have so many safeguards in place.
01:39They do the best they can, and it's amazing
01:40that we don't have more problems in space than we do.
01:43Can I tell you the thing
01:44that I've kind of got stuck in my head, though,
01:45is Melanie, our camera woman,
01:46said that we should have a coast guard in space,
01:48which is not practical for so many reasons,
01:50but what a good show that would be.
01:51Imagine Baywatch in space,
01:53Pam Anderson in zero gravity
01:55instead of the ocean, out saving astronauts.
01:57Jeremy Jackson is zipping the spacesuits.
02:01Yeah, Spacewatch.
02:02I think that'd be a great TV show.
02:04Rescuing astronauts.
02:06Hi, it's Stephanie out of Phoenix, Arizona,
02:08and no, I actually agree with you guys
02:10and LeVar Burton's statements.
02:12Space is dangerous, and astronauts know exactly
02:15what they're doing when they're going up there,
02:17but also, space exploration is very important
02:19for what we do down here.
02:21Just think about satellite technology.
02:23Come on, you couldn't even be able to drive your car
02:26without the aid and discovery of what we do in space.
02:30I agree with you.
02:32Some people don't realize that.
02:33We had a big argument in the newsroom this morning
02:36that it's really valuable.