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12h ago

NASA Astronaut Butch Wilmore Retires After 25 Years and Four Spacecraft Missions

His retirement comes after a planned eight-day Starliner test flight evolved into a nine-month ISS stay owing to Boeing’s return thruster failures.

Boeing Crew Flight Test crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams during Suited CFT FS Joint Ascent Sim training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on October 31, 2022.
FILE - Astronaut Butch Wilmore is interviewed at Johnson Space Center on March 31, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)
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Overview

  • Wilmore announced his retirement on August 6, 2025, concluding a 25-year NASA career with a record 464 days in space.
  • He piloted four different vehicles—Space Shuttle Atlantis, Roscosmos Soyuz, Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Dragon—underscoring his adaptability across legacy and commercial programs.
  • Across three ISS missions, he conducted five spacewalks totaling 32 hours outside the orbital laboratory.
  • His final mission launched June 5, 2024, as Boeing’s first crewed Starliner flight test, which was grounded by return thruster and helium leaks.
  • After Starliner was deemed unsafe for crewed descent, he returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon following a nine-month station stay.