KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Astronaut and University of Tennessee graduate Barry “Butch” Wilmore has announced his retirement from NASA. The news comes months after he and fellow astronaut Suni Williams returned to Earth from a 286-day stint on the International Space Station that made world news.
The 62-year-old Tennessee native is a decorated U.S. Navy Captain who flew numerous tactical missions while deploying aboard four aircraft carriers during peacetime and combat operations, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served as a NASA test pilot before being selected to become an astronaut in 2000.
Astronaut Butch Wilmore recounts watching Tennessee baseball’s title run from space
Wilmore received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Tech University in 1985 and a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1994. He also earned a master’s degree in aviation systems from the UT Space Institute, a University of Tennessee satellite campus near Tullahoma, in 1994.
He is one of nine NASA astronauts who graduated from the UT Space Institute. Margaret Rhea Seddon, a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, was one of the first six women accepted by NASA into the astronaut program in 1978 and flew on three Space Shuttle flights.
Astronaut Butch Wilmore awarded Tennessee Tech’s highest honor
Wilmore and Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for its first crewed flight test mission, arriving at the International Space Station the following day. The test flight was scheduled to last eight days, but technical difficulties ultimately prolonged their stay aboard the space station to nearly 10 months. The pair returned to Earth on March 18, 2025…