Barry “Butch” Wilmore (’94) was looking for something that would give him an edge over other candidates in the NASA astronaut selection process. Already a decorated pilot in the Navy, Wilmore wanted to continue serving his country by flying to even greater heights.
He knew having a master’s degree in a STEM field was necessary and began exploring his options. The Tennessee native discovered that the best opportunity was right in his backyard. The UT Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, offered a Master of Science in aviation systems.
“I jumped on the advantage to get a degree from the University of Tennessee, which I cherished,” Wilmore says. “That helped set my application apart from some others. I didn’t just have degrees from any university. I had a degree from the University of Tennessee, which I learned after the fact was one of the things that propelled me forward in that area.”
Wilmore retired in August 2025 after 25 years at NASA. During his tenure, he flew in five different spacecraft, accumulated 464 days in space, and conducted five space walks. His final mission was aboard Boeing’s Starliner vessel to the International Space Station. Wilmore and fellow astronaut Sunita Williams were expected to stay just a week following the June 2024 launch, but the spacecraft experienced multiple issues on its outbound journey, forcing the pair to remain in space until March 2025.
“My career at NASA was extremely rewarding. The Lord blessed me to be in that position. I can talk about what I saw and what I did and what I experienced, but I think the responsibility that your nation places on you in that role is probably the most satisfying part,” Wilmore says. “Just understanding that really outshines the views and the flying like Superman, although all that’s great as well.”
Throughout his more than two decades as an astronaut, Wilmore proudly displayed his UT alumni status. He wore orange on the spacecraft and held signs while floating in space cheering for the Vols before big sporting events. He sent messages to UT students and stayed connected with administrators to arrange speaking appearances whenever he was available.
Wilmore has been honored multiple times by the university throughout the years. He is a recipient of both the UT Distinguished Alumni Award and the UTSI Distinguished Alumni Award and a member of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Hall of Fame. In the fall of 2025, Wilmore returned to Rocky Top to serve as the grand marshal of UT’s Homecoming Parade.
“There are certain things you do in your life where you go How did I get here? And that’s one of them,” Wilmore says. “It was totally unexpected. That’s not something that you even think to put on your bucket list. But it was fantastic.”
I jumped on the advantage to get a degree from the University of Tennessee, which I cherished.”
—Butch Wilmore
Humble beginnings
Wilmore was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and grew up in nearby Mount Juliet on a seven-acre plot of land with cows, chickens, and a horse.
“I learned a lot of good life lessons through a lot of things that transpired through those years. It was a suburb of Nashville, but it felt like we were in the country and we loved it,” Wilmore says. “It was a great foundation for life. I’m grateful that my parents got us out a little bit where we could run around and get dirty, get stuck in the pond mud, and all those kinds of things that kids do.”
Wilmore’s fascination with flight and space started as a child. He would look toward the sky each night with curiosity and wonder. Wilmore didn’t believe he would be able to fly, however, until he got to college.
He majored in electrical engineering at Tennessee Technological University while playing for the football team. Wilmore dreamed of serving his country and being a pilot in the US Navy, but reconstructive knee surgery from a football injury delayed his enlistment. Once he finally got his class date for Aviation Officer Candidate School, Wilmore put his master’s degree at TTU on hold to join.
He spent 30 years in the Navy, becoming a decorated captain who flew numerous tactical aircraft while deployed aboard four aircraft carriers during peacetime and combat operations. Wilmore was a part of 21 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm and received numerous medals and distinctions.
“The initial thing that the Lord allowed me to do was going into the Navy and flying combat aircraft,” Wilmore says. “I don’t dream a lot, but when I do dream, I don’t dream about space flight. I dream about operating around the aircraft carrier, flying those airplanes. That was the desire of my heart.”
Value of a UT degree
Wilmore remained active in the Navy during his master’s program at UTSI, which is part of the Tickle College of Engineering. Along with his coursework, he coordinated the first trip to Russia for Navy test pilot instructors.
“That was unheard of at the time. It was covered by CNN when we went, and I was the linchpin. It was my idea. I did all the work,” Wilmore says. “I had to talk to the State Department literally every weekday for four months before we went. It was constant coordination.”
For one of his final degree projects at UTSI, Wilmore had to compare two aircraft. He chose two carrier-based aircraft from World War II.
“That was a very rigorous process to go through all the performance analysis of aircraft that you knew nothing about. That performance class was one of the toughest classes I took throughout my schooling,” Wilmore says. “I worked hard, but I made it through with a 4.0 GPA. I thought I may blow my 4.0 with that class, but fortunately I think I squeaked by with an 89.9 and they probably gave me the 0.1.”
Wilmore’s status in the aviation and aerospace ecosystem has elevated the entire university, says Matthew Mench, dean and the Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair of the Tickle College of Engineering, and his accomplishments have served as an inspiration to everyone associated with UT.
“The university is extremely fortunate to have Butch Wilmore as an alum. He is a true servant leader and a shining example of what can be achieved through hard work and dedication,” Mench says. “The sacrifices Butch made for our country are admirable, and he continues to give back to help others even now that he’s retired from NASA. Our entire college community has greatly benefited from Butch’s professional experience and high quality of character. I am grateful to consider him a friend.”
Weighty space questions
Wilmore has returned to campus several times to speak with engineering students. Many ask for his advice on how they can follow in his path and become an astronaut.
“I say, ‘do what you want, do what you love, do what you’re passionate about—and if that leads to being an astronaut, fantastic. If it doesn’t, fantastic,’” Wilmore says. “I’ve got a lot of personal goals that I never attained, but it’s the journey and enjoying where you’re at in the moment and being thankful for where you are in that moment.”
Wilmore is comfortable speaking to large groups and enjoys sharing his life story with others. The question he is asked most often about being an astronaut—outside of how astronauts use the restroom in space—is about being weightless and what happens once an astronaut returns to Earth.
“It varies with everybody, but it’s similar. Your neurovestibular—your balance—you get that back first. Your skeletal system and muscles have to hold up your body, and it hasn’t done it for almost 10 months. That takes more time,” Wilmore says. “There’s little muscles we can’t work out that haven’t really been used for quite a period of time, and now they’ve got to function, and they’re stressed, and you can feel it for months.”
On the lighter side of things, Wilmore admits there are a lot of flatulence jokes in space.
“I don’t know if they’ve done a study on it or what, but if your gas expulsion is a 10 on a scale of 100 on earth, it exceeds 100 in space. It’s uncanny what the body does as far as its processes, and the gas is a huge part of it,” Wilmore says with a laugh. “There is humor around that because of how much it is and how often it is.”
On the horizon
Wilmore published a memoir, a project he worked on during his extended trip aboard the Starliner. The title? Stuck in Space.
He started writing the book for his daughters, Daryn and Logan. He had a few chapters written before his final launch and was able to complete several more after his return home was delayed.
“While I was up there, I thought I would use my time with intent. My wife, Deanna, and I were in our 40s when we had our daughters, so that was really the reason why I was thinking of writing the book,” he says. “Because I wanted to give them some details about the life we had lived before they were born so they could have something to keep.”
Although Wilmore is retired from the Navy and NASA, he wants to continue serving the country in some way because it brings him so much joy. UT played an integral role in helping him achieve his dreams, and he plans to return the favor to future generations of Volunteers.
“Whatever I can do to be a support to that university, I’m all in,” Wilmore says. “I don’t know what that might look like, but any opportunity they have for me, I will be ready to do it.”
