Amanda Nguyen, the Vietnamese-American astronaut who was part of April's all-female Blue Origin spaceflight, has said she experienced depression after a 'tsunami of harassment' following the historic mission. The 11-minute flight, which included pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez, drew criticism over its environmental impact and purpose.
In a statement on Instagram, Nguyen, 34, said the backlash buried her professional achievements under an 'avalanche of misogyny'. She told King that her depression 'might last for years', and revealed she could not get out of bed for a week after returning from Texas. She also described breaking down in tears during a phone call with a Blue Origin staff member.
Nguyen, a bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist for sexual assault survivors, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and named one of Time magazine's women of the year in 2022. She said the negativity from the flight made her feel like 'collateral damage', forcing her to revisit survival skills from her past trauma.
Eight months on, Nguyen said the 'fog of grief has started to lift', and expressed gratitude to supporters. She noted that while the flight brought criticism, it also drew attention to her women's health research and advocacy for rape survivors. 'Vietnam saved me,' she wrote, recalling that her family, who fled Vietnam as refugees, saw her become the first Vietnamese woman in space.
She ended her post with a photo of herself as a student at Harvard, captioned 'For her', reflecting on the journey from her survivor self to achieving her dream despite the backlash.
