NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has revealed that he briefly thought he and fellow astronaut Suni Williams could die when their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered a major failure while approaching the International Space Station. Wilmore, who has now retired from NASA, described the frightening moment in his memoir Stuck in Space, recalling what happened during the spacecraft's first crewed flight in June 2024. The mission was supposed to last only about eight days. Instead, Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space after problems with Starliner's propulsion system forced NASA to abandon plans to bring them home aboard the spacecraft.
As the Starliner approached the ISS, several thrusters malfunctioned. Wilmore was forced to take control of the spacecraft, and at one point he was confronted with the possibility that the two astronauts might not make it. 'I cannot even begin to convey the feeling of dread that momentarily overwhelms my emotions,' Wilmore wrote in his memoir, according to PEOPLE. He later said fear could not be allowed to take over. 'Fear is not your ally, it's your enemy in those scenarios,' Wilmore said.
The spacecraft eventually docked with the station, but the problems did not end there. NASA ultimately decided that Starliner was too risky to use for the astronauts' return and sent it back to Earth without them. Wilmore and Williams instead returned aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in March 2025.
The mission has since been subjected to a major NASA investigation. A report released in February 2026 found a combination of hardware failures, gaps in qualification, leadership mistakes and problems within the program's safety culture. NASA classified the flight as a Type A mishap, its most serious classification, even though nobody was injured. Wilmore, who spent a total of 464 days in space during his NASA career, retired in August 2025 after 25 years with the agency.