Barry Wilmore, front right, and a crew of astronauts prepare to launch on the space shuttle Atlantis in November 2009. Wilmore was in space for 11 days. Credit: NASA.gov
Barry Wilmore, a native of Mt. Juliet and alumnus of Tennessee Tech, will be launching into space in two months and taking command of the International Space Station.
As a Navy captain, Wilmore was deployed four times, including to Iraq. But as an astronaut, leaving home is a little different. Not only is he going to space, but he now also has two daughters, ages 7 and 10.
“But I’ve explained to them, that in the big scheme of life, that daddy going to space for six months is not such a bad deal. It can actually be a good deal from the memories alone that they’ll have to look back on.”
Speaking to reporters from a conference call in Houston on Wednesday, he said he’ll be able to call them every day and video chat once a week. Besides that, he said that he doesn’t foresee any challenges of going up into space.
Wilmore, 51, will be gone September through March. This November, he’ll assume command of the station and five other astronauts from three countries, including NASA’s Terry Virts from Maryland. He says they’re planning to make two spacewalks.
Previously, Wilmore made three spacewalks at the International Space Station during an 11-day mission four years ago on the STS-129.
American astronauts like Wilmore launch on Russian rockets. As tensions heat up between the U.S. and Russia, some are worried that they might jeopardize Americans’ abilities to go up into space. One former NASA administrator called it “a hostage situation.”
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