At 8:30 PM on April 14 (Hanoi time), the New Shepard spacecraft lifted off the pad at Van Horn, Texas, carrying a crew of six members into space.
Accompanying Amanda Nguyen on the NS-31 mission were five outstanding female crew members, namely Aisha Bowe, a former aerospace engineer of Bahamian-American heritage; renowned journalist Gayle King; singer-philanthropist Katy Perry; film producer Kerianne Flynn; and helicopter pilot and journalist Lauren Sánchez.
This represents the first all-female crew since Valentina Tereshkova's pioneering flight in 1963, highlighting progress in gender equality within the aerospace sector.
NS-31 is also the 31st spaceflight and the 11th manned spaceflight conducted by the US technology company Blue Origin.
The flight lasted 11 minutes, during which the crew experienced several minutes of weightlessness at a maximum altitude of about 105 km, admired the Earth’s curvature and the darkness of space before safely landing in West Texas.
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Representatives from the Vietnam National Space Centre, Hero Pham Tuan, and US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper watch the NS-31 mission at a live viewing event at the US Ambassador’s residence. |
Attending a live viewing event at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi with her children on the evening of April 14, Vu Hoai Thuong from Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, expressed her excitement about the mission.
“Today, I feel truly fortunate to have the opportunity to bring my children to this wonderful event. I hope this will extend my children’s dreams, and maybe one day they will be the next generation to conquer the sky for Vietnam,” Thuong happily shared.
According to Associate Professor, Dr Pham Ngoc Diep, Director of the Centre for Astrophysics and Space Exploration (Vietnam National Space Centre) and President of the Vietnam Astronomical and Space Association, the event of the New Shepard spacecraft carrying Amanda Nguyen and five female astronauts into space marks an important milestone in space exploration and the aerospace cooperation between Vietnam and the US.
In 2025, as Vietnam and the US are celebrating their 30th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties and 50 years since the end of the war, the event serves as a bridge of reconciliation, connecting the two nations through shared aspirations of space exploration: sowing the seeds of dreams to reach the vast universe.
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NS-31 is the 31st spaceflight and the 11th manned spaceflight conducted by the US technology company Blue Origin. |
On the flight, the Vietnam National Space Centre provided 169 lotus seeds (Nelumbo nucifera) to accompany Amanda Nguyen on her journey beyond Earth.
Selected by the Centre for Flowers, Ornamental Research and Development under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the lotus seeds returned to the Earth after the mission for scientific study.
Researchers will examine how space conditions affect their growth patterns, contributing to plant science and space exploration.
The VNSC described the journey of the lotus seeds as a timeless story, noting how the lotus, a flower that blooms from mud, symbolises resilience and hope.
Associate Professor, Dr Pham Ngoc Diep hopes this event will spread scientific values to the community, attract young people’s interest in science and technology, ignite passion for space exploration, and sow the seeds of dreams to reach the vast universe.
Amanda Nguyen was born in 1991 in the US. She has been an active advocate against discrimination and sexual assault in the US. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and was named one of Time magazine's Women of the Year in 2022.
She received the 24th Annual Heinz Award for Public Policy and the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and was recognised by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 100 global thinkers.
