Vietnam's state president congratulates Amanda Nguyen as first Vietnamese-origin woman in space

President Cuong’s message was delivered by Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Nguyen Quoc Dung after Nguyen completed the Blue Origin NS-31 mission on April 14, 2025. The flight carried Nguyen and five other women into space aboard the New Shepard spacecraft.

In his letter, the president expressed pride in Nguyen’s accomplishment, calling it a reflection of the intellect and capabilities of Vietnamese people globally.

He noted the significance of her milestone as Vietnam and the U.S. mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.

The president also commended Nguyen’s collaboration with the Vietnam National Space Center, highlighting its role in advancing cooperation between the two countries in space exploration.

He acknowledged the positive contributions of the Vietnamese-American community to U.S. development and to the growing partnership between the two nations, which elevated bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in September 2023.

On April 14, at 8:30 am local time in West Texas (8:30 pm in Vietnam), Amanda Nguyen and five other women launched into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft, operated by the space tourism company founded by Jeff Bezos – the world’s second-richest individual.

The spacecraft crossed the Kármán Line – widely recognized as the boundary of space at 100 kilometers above sea level – allowing the six-member crew to briefly experience weightlessness and observe Earth's curvature before safely returning via parachute, concluding the 11-minute journey.

Joining Nguyen were journalist and pilot Lauren Sánchez, pop star Katy Perry, CBS Mornings host Gayle King, aerospace engineer and former NASA staffer Aisha Bowe, and independent film producer Kerianne Flynn.

With this flight, Nguyen became the first woman of Vietnamese origin and the first Southeast Asian woman to travel into space.

Nguyen also brought along 169 lotus seeds (Nelumbo nucifera) provided by the Vietnam National Space Center under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The seeds will be used in scientific studies to examine the effects of space travel on plant growth.

This marked New Shepard’s 11th crewed mission and the first all-female spaceflight since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo journey in 1963.

Born on October 10, 1991, Amanda Nguyen graduated from Harvard University and interned at NASA in 2013.

She later worked at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and served as Deputy White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of State.

She conducted research at NASA and the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences.

In 2014, she founded Rise, a nonprofit dedicated to civil rights protections for sexual assault survivors. Nguyen, a survivor herself, now serves as Rise’s CEO.

She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and named Time magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2022 in recognition of her powerful and tireless advocacy.