Amanda Nguyen plans to conduct women's health experiments during Blue Origin's first all-female spaceflight mission
Appearing on "CBS Mornings" on Thursday, Nguyen said she is not afraid about her upcoming Blue Origin flight.
Nguyen will join a historic all-female crew that includes "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry, philanthropist Lauren Sanchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and producer Kerrianne Flynn. During the mission, Nguyen plans to conduct two science experiments — one in partnership with the Vietnamese National Space Center and another focused on women's health.
"Women were barred from becoming astronauts at NASA early on because of menstruation. They didn't have the data to back that up," Nguyen explained.
She is also celebrating the launch of her newly released memoir "Saving Five," which is written from the perspective of different ages of herself, addressing her 5-year-old, 22-year-old, 30-year-old selves and beyond.
"I picked 5-year-old and 80-year-old because really I think the purpose in our lives is to live out our full potential and to make ourselves proud," Nguyen said. "Truly what I want people to know is that their dreams matter and can still come true."
Nguyen discussed how she put her dreams on hold after experiencing sexual assault, choosing to pursue justice rather than her career. She subsequently drafted the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights, which was passed unanimously by chambers of Congress.
The legislation she championed extended the preservation period for rape kits, which were previously destroyed after just six months in Massachusetts and 30 days in New York.
"After ten years of fighting for my rights, I finally get to honor the person that I was before I was hurt," Nguyen said.
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"He's just not confirmed as NASA Administrator, but he's been confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Transportation, so I do not think they need to go through another hearing nomination, hearing confirmation. He's already there," said Logsdon. Should Duffy be picked to run both NASA and the Department of Transportation, the process could be expedited -- and, Logsdon said, it made sense that Petro was replaced. "If the Trump White House wanted to put Duffy in as administrator, and dual him with transportation, then Petro had to go," said Logsdon. Looking back in history: Waits for NASA leaders It's not unheard of for the space agency to be without a permanent leader for some time. Sean O'Keefe wasn't sworn in as NASA administrator until December 2001, 11 months after George W. Bush took office during his first term. Fred Gregory served as acting administrator during the wait. Gregory was then sworn in as deputy administrator. Looking back further, Richard Truly was not sworn in as NASA administrator until July 1989, serving under George H.W. Bush. "There's not one clear pattern," said Logsdon. "There have been several past instances where the nomination came in late." The best example of the nomination coming in late is James Beggs, who was nominated by President Reagan in June 1981. Six months after Reagan took office, Beggs was sworn in as NASA Administrator one month later. For now, it remains to be seen how long that wait will be during this second Trump administration. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA still without a permanent administrator. Here's what could happen.
