After 25 years at NASA, flying in four different spacecraft, accumulating 464 days in space, astronaut and test pilot Butch Wilmore has retired from the US space agency.

The Tennessee native earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University and a master’s degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee.

He is a decorated US Navy captain who has flown numerous tactical aircraft operationally while deploying aboard four aircraft carriers during peacetime and combat operations. A graduate of the US Naval Test Pilot School, he went on to serve as a test pilot before NASA selected him to become an astronaut in 2000.

During his time at NASA, Wilmore completed three missions launching aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, Roscosmos Soyuz, and Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. He also returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Additionally, he conducted five spacewalks, totaling 32 hours outside the orbital laboratory.  

Most recently, he launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for its first crewed flight test mission, arriving at the space station the following day. While aboard the station, Wilmore completed numerous tasks, including a spacewalk to help remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and collected samples and surface material for analysis from the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock.