Astronaut Retires After Unexpected Extended Stay on ISS

In a move that highlights the challenges and triumphs of modern space exploration, NASA announced on August 7, 2025, that astronaut Butch Wilmore is retiring from the agency less than five months after returning from an extended stay on the International Space Station (ISS).

Wilmore, along with NASA astronaut Suni Williams, had been tasked with piloting the first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in 2024. However, the mission gained worldwide attention when the spacecraft experienced several serious issues en route to the space station, including thruster outages and gas leaks.

Initially, Williams and Wilmore were expected to stay aboard the ISS for only about eight days. But NASA and Boeing spent weeks attempting to pinpoint the problems with the Starliner and assess whether it was safe to bring the astronauts home. Ultimately, the space agency decided that returning the duo to Earth aboard the troubled spacecraft was too risky, and they were asked to join the next ISS crew rotation instead.

Wilmore and Williams ultimately returned to Earth in March 2025, more than nine months after they had left. Such an extended stay in orbit is not uncommon for astronauts, who routinely live on the space station for six months or longer during staff rotation missions. Both astronauts have maintained that they were fully prepared for the unexpected extension of their mission, and they have sought to change the narrative around being "stranded" or "abandoned" in space.

Wilmore's retirement from NASA follows the example set by other astronauts who have stepped down after high-profile missions, including Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who piloted the first crewed test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule in 2020. Despite the challenges of the Starliner mission, Wilmore has expressed a willingness to fly aboard the spacecraft again if given the opportunity, stating that the issues will be rectified.