The Boeing Starliner is scheduled to return to Earth Friday evening, but it will do so without its crew, including astronaut and Middle Tennessee native Barry “Butch” Wilmore.
He’s now scheduled to remain on the International Space Station until February 2025 along with the Starliner’s other crew member Sunita Williams . The pair’s trip to space, first expected to last between 1-2 weeks, has grown to approximately eight months.
Barry Wilmore’s father Eugene Wilmore, who lived 44 years in Mt. Juliet before moving to Hermitage , described the experience so far as an “emotional roller coaster,” but not one that’s shaking his son or the family.
“They are fine knowing Barry will be safe coming home in February,” Eugene Wilmore wrote in an email from Texas, where he’s staying with his son’s wife and daughters at their home.
“I can FaceTime with Barry. He looks good and accepts things as they occur. He always says ‘God is in control’ and that is also my belief.”
The Starliner’s inaugural crew test flight has experienced helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters , according to reports, leading to the spacecraft being brought home without a crew.