Updated: 10/13/2009 8:18:20 AM
By Deborah Highland, The Tennessean
Barry Wilmore's first word as a baby was "why."
That question and a lifelong fascination with how things work have led Wilmore on a career path that will carry him into space next month.
The 46-year-old U.S. Navy captain and NASA astronaut will pilot an 11-day mission on the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. The shuttle is scheduled to launch Nov. 12.
"I was always intrigued by how things work, and I still am," said Wilmore, who was born in Murfreesboro and graduated in 1981 from Mt. Juliet High School, where he played football and baseball and wrestled. Wilmore went on to get a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Tennessee Tech University. He also holds a second master's degree from the University of Tennessee.
"Barry Wilmore had a lofty goal - to make it into space - and he made that dream come true with determination, hard work and a commitment to his education," Gov. Phil Bredesen said. "As a member of this crew, Barry stands as a role model for our Tennessee students, proving the stars are not beyond their reach."
Wilmore, who lives in Houston, credits his Tennessee education, team sports and the military as the building blocks that got him into NASA's space program.
"It takes a lot of science and math to get here," Wilmore said.
Sports taught him the value of teamwork.
"No one person in a team sport is going to be able to outdo or outshine and bring the whole team along," Wilmore said. "It's impossible. You have to be surrounded by other people."
He maintains that attitude about his upcoming trip into space.
"I don't feel it's about me. It's about our nation's human space flight program. Certainly, I am honored to be one of the pink bodies sitting on the pointy end of that rocket that's pushing 7.5 million pounds of thrust. It's not about me."
Coach invited to launch
Jerry Kirby, a teacher at Mt. Juliet High School, was one of Wilmore's football coaches and his wrestling coach. Kirby remembers Wilmore as the offensive guard and defensive linebacker who knew not only his own assignments but also all of the other players on the line.
"He's probably one of the hardest workers I ever had; very, very smart," Kirby said. "I knew he was going to be successful, but I didn't know he was going to be flying into space."
Kirby is one of five of Wilmore's former coaches that the astronaut personally invited to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the shuttle launch.
Kirby, who stays in touch with his former player, has arranged for Wilmore to take a Mt. Juliet High School football jersey with him into space. It will be a number 54, Wilmore's old number. Once the jersey is returned from the flight, it will be hung inside the school along with a picture of Wilmore.
Wilmore is tentatively scheduled to speak to students at Mt. Juliet High on Dec. 11.
As for Wilmore's parents, Eugene and Faye, who still live in Mt. Juliet, they are proud but nervous.
"I'm even nervous when he's not on the flight," Eugene Wilmore said. "But I'm sure everything will be fine."
