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 one to two 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.
The Starliner is scheduled to undock from the space station at 5:04 p.m. CDT, on Friday to return to Earth, weather permitting at the deadline for this story.
NASA will analyze weather predictions, including wind conditions.
The Starliner's trip back to Earth is estimated to take about six hours. It is expected to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Wilmore and Williams are expected to return to Earth next year aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, scheduled to lift off for the space station on Sept. 24, according to NASA.
Barry Wilmore's journey from Tennessee Tech to space: 'Born for this moment'
Wilmore played football at Mt. Juliet High School, where he graduated in 1981 before going on to Tennessee Tech University, where he was a team captain.
Wilmore took part in a June video chat with the children of faculty and staff at Tennessee Tech, where he is a two-time graduate of the College of Engineering and a university trustee since 2017.
“Barry Wilmore was born for this moment,” Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham said. “His discipline and tenacity are unmatched; skills forged from his earliest days as a walk-on Tech football player to his noble service as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and captain. Now the world is getting to see the Barry that we all know.”
Starliner crew in space from now to February 2025
Wilmore and Williams will continue to support research, maintenance and other activities at the International Space Station, alongside the Expedition 71 crew, according to NASA.
Science the astronauts have been involved in includes new ways to produce fiber optic cables and growing plants aboard the orbiting complex, according to NASA.
NASA has emphasized that Wilmore and Williams are trained for all situations and that there are supplies to accommodate the astronauts.
The Starliner's return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering data on the spacecraft during the flight home while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew, according to a NASA blog.
The goal for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program contract with Boeing is to develop a spacecraft system able to travel to the space station, in part to have a second option if one isn’t operational.
SpaceX is also under contract with the Commercial Crew Program.
Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee native Barry Wilmore on Starliner return minus astronauts: 'God is in control'
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