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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.

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.