Captain Barry E. "Butch" Wilmore joined FOX News Media as a contributor in April 2026. He is a decorated naval aviator, test pilot, and veteran NASA astronaut with 25 years of distinguished service. Over the course of his spaceflight career, he logged 464 days in space across three missions, completed five spacewalks totaling approximately 32 hours, and served as Commander of the International Space Station (ISS) and pilot aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. He retired from NASA in August 2025.
In June 2024, Wilmore commanded Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its inaugural crewed flight test. After technical issues prompted NASA to return the spacecraft uncrewed, he remained onboard the ISS and completed an extended 286-day mission before returning to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX Dragon as part of the Crew-9 mission.
Wilmore made his first spaceflight in 2009 as pilot of STS-129, a Space Shuttle mission that delivered critical supplies and equipment to the ISS. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 after completing two years of training at Kennedy Space Center.
Before and during his NASA career, Wilmore served as a U.S. Navy officer and aviator, completing four operational deployments and flying 21 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, alongside operational support missions over Iraq and Bosnia. He also served as a flight test instructor at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Over his aviation career, he accumulated more than 8,000 flight hours and 663 carrier landings in tactical jet aircraft.
Wilmore holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University, where he played football. Additionally, he earned a master’s degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. Wilmore is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
Wilmore has received numerous honors, such as the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, and Defense Meritorious Service Medal, along with multiple Air Medals and Navy commendations.
