Wilmore family ready for son’s next soaring achievement
For Eugene and Faye, the preparation began when Barry was just a child. He didn’t merely climb trees; he had to get to the highest branch. It was only the beginning of a lifetime of goal setting followed by achievement.
“When you have a son like Barry who has always done very dangerous things, each new thing prepares you for the next,” said Faye Wilmore. “I have a peace with it, and that knowing that he’s going to be able to get to the next level.”
The couple will leave Mt. Juliet for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, and anticipated a full schedule of activities. They’ll attend receptions, a beach house barbecue, view the shuttle at night, and, importantly, have some private family time with Barry and the opportunity for another hug before he flies.
The launch and mission of STS-129 is especially significant for the Tennessee Tech University community. Barry Wilmore, a Navy captain, is a graduate of TTU (electrical engineering 1985, 1994). So is his wife, Deanna. His father is a 1958 graduate in industrial management as is his brother, Jack, a 1984 graduate in industrial technology, and Jack’s wife, Selena, is a 1985 graduate as well. Add to that two Wilmore grandchildren, Jack’s children – Lucas, a senior, and Elizabeth Ann, sophomore – and TTU is much more than family tradition for the Wilmores.
“I’ve got a number of cousins who attended as well,” Eugene Wilmore said. “We grew up in Carthage, and Tech was close so we went there.” Faye Wilmore is a 1959 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, where she studied biology and education. She worked as a teacher and then an administrator for Metro Public Schools in Nashville. She’s retired now, as is Eugene, who was an accountant.
Jack Wilmore and his family are expected to attend the Nov. 22 videoconference downlink from the International Space Station to TTU. Wilmore and the other members of the STS-129 shuttle crew will speak with and answer questions asked by selected students from TTU and area K-12 schools.
Barry Wilmore credits his education and sports participation at Mt. Juliet High School and TTU for preparing him for success.
After Barry Wilmore earned his bachelor's degree, he applied to the U.S. Navy, but he failed the physical because of a knee injury. He used his remaining year of eligibility to play football and attend graduate school.
After several more physicals, the Navy gave him a shot. By 1987, he was in Corpus Christi, Texas, flying A-4s for the Navy. He flew 21 missions in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, then conducted initial flight tests for the T-45, and later spent a year as a Navy Test Pilot School instructor.
After five years of flying F-18s and two more deployments, Wilmore became a test pilot instructor at Edwards Air Force Base as part of a Navy/Air Force exchange.
Chosen as an astronaut candidate in 2000, he spent two years in training and evaluation before being assigned technical duties representing the astronaut office on all propulsion systems issues including the space shuttle main engines, solid rocket motor, and external tank. He also served on the astronaut support team that traveled to the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in support of launch and landing operations.
Eugene and Faye Wilmore have been to one other shuttle launch. Two years ago they were Barry’s guests for a launch.
“It was great! The ground even shakes,” Eugene said.
Said Faye: “It was an awesome experience to see that much power. All you want to say is, ‘Please keep going, please keep going.’ I know others have done it, but not in our family!
Eugene said he was more worried about his son’s safety when he was flying missions in Iraq and Kuwait than he is about the shuttle launch. Still, the launch of STS-129 is worrisome too.
“He’s fulfilling his dream to go into space. We’re glad for that,” he said.
NASA downlink details
Don’t miss your chance to watch the space mission downlink to TTU from the International Space Station on Sunday, Nov. 22. The special event will be broadcast live on WCTE-TV, on statewide public television, on TTU’s cross-campus closed circuit television Channel 4, and via streaming video at http://www.nasa.gov and http://www.wcte.org.
As with any shuttle launch, delays may affect the date of liftoff. In the event the launch date is moved back, the downlink will be delayed as well. Updates will be available on the Oakley STEM Center web site.
The following tentative timeline will be updated after the Nov. 16 launch:
- 10:30 a.m.: WCTE-TV coverage begins
- 10:30-10:45 a.m.: Welcome by TTU President Bob Bell; Sally Pardue, director, Oakley STEM Center; Stephen Parke, chair, TTU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- 10:50 a.m.: U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon
- 10:53 a.m.: Live videoconference with the International Space Station astronauts for 20 minutes
- 11:15 a.m.: Closing
Here’s how to watch the live event:
- For the best coverage of both our Tennessee students and the NASA astronauts, watch WCTE-TV (Channel 10 on Charter cable, channel 22 on Dish/Direct/antenna). It will be broadcast on TTU’s campus on closed circuit TV Channel 4. If you are on campus, visit Clement Hall 212 Engineering Auditorium to watch.
- Elsewhere in Tennessee, watch your local public television station’s second digital channel.
- From anywhere in the world, watch live video streaming on NASA TV on the web: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
- Watch NASA-TV if it is provided by your local cable service or satellite televison provider.
- If you have your own satellite dish, tune to satellite AMC-7, 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 5C, 3785.5 MHz, vertical polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast-compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder with modulation of QPSK/DBV, data rate of 6.00 and FEC 3/4 will be needed for reception.
