First Vietnamese American woman into space back on the ground

 

BLUE ORIGIN

Amanda Nguyễn steps out of the Blue Origin capsule in achieving one of her dreams.

A successful, star-studded space launch took place in the West Texas desert early Monday morning. An all-woman crew, including pop star Katy Perry and television personality Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American woman to fly to space.

The mission, called NS-31, included Lauren Sánchez, who is engaged to Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. Also on the New Shepard rocket were scientist Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

Blue Origin successfully completed its 11th human spaceflight for the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez, who brought the mission together.

Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 58 people to space, including four people who have flown twice.

Launching from Blue Origin’s private west Texas ranch, Launch Site One, the pilotless New Shepard reached supersonic speeds, surpassing 2,000 mph during its ascent.

Around the 3-minute mark, the rocket booster separated from the crew capsule, at which point the women aboard became weightless as their spacecraft continued toward apogee, or its highest point.

The capsule then began what Blue Origin calls a "stable freefall" — plummeting back to Earth. 

The female crew could soon be heard whooping in joy as three massive parachutes deployed after about nine minutes into the flight. Two minutes later, the capsule made a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust.

Fifteen minutes after launch, the capsule was back on the ground with the crew safe and sound.

Nguyễn stepped out of a windowed white capsule in the West Texas desert on Monday (April 14), placed her hands firmly on her chest, then punched them toward the sky, beaming with joy. Having just flown beyond the Kármán line — recognized as the division between Earth and the rest of the universe — she'd just become the first Vietnamese woman to fly to space. 

BLUE ORIGIN

Prior to launch Monday morninig, the all-female crew posed in front of the Blue Origin rocket.

 Amanda Nguyen is at far right.

She'd also just closed the loop on a dream she paused for 10 years to advocate for civil rights, keeping a promise to her younger self that she would "return to her."

Nguyễn , a sexual assault survivor, carried a hospital bracelet — from a visit following her assault — on the flight, which she has previously described as part of her healing process. 

Nguyễn, who is also a bioastronautics research scientist, was on her way to train as an astornaut. That dream was put on pause for ten years during which she became an outspoken advocate for sexual assault survivors.

She is credited with hellping pass the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Act, which entitles survivors to free medical exams, mandates that forensic evidence be kept for at least the statute of limitations on rape, and provides the option of extending that timeline in certain circumstances. Because of this accomplishment, she was also a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Nguyễn also brought a few in-orbit projects to conduct during the 10.5-minute flight as well.

One of those experiments involves testing material for wound dressing in microgravity; Nguyễn has said that the results of this experiment could have applications for women's health in space. Better absorption technology in microgravity conditions would make it possible for engineers to create space-friendly pads or tampons for women astronauts who menstruate. It is especially pertinent, seeing as Nguyễn's Blue Origin mission was the first spaceflight in 60 years to not have a man on board. (Her crewmates were former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, journalist Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry and journalist and author Lauren Sánchez, who is the fiancee of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.)

"Historically, NASA barred women from becoming astronauts, and one of the reasons they cited the most was menstruation," Nguyễn told The Guardian. "That's why I’m doing it."

Afterwards, Nguyễn offered a message to survivors of sexual assault: "I just want every survivor and every person who's ever had a dream deferred to know that your dreams are valid," she said. "And even if your dreams are as wild as going to space, they matter. And you can get there too. If I can get there, you can get there too."

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