Before leading major space travel mission on Starliner, NASA astronaut was a Tennessee Vol

Whatever you're doing at 10:34 p.m. May 6, it won't top NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore's plans to take the Volunteer spirit out of this world.

OK, fine. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville alum's main priority is serving as commander during the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner, which will take him and pilot Sunita "Suni" Williams to the International Space Station.

And depending on how things go, the test flight could make the Starliner a routine ferry for the space agency.

It's all finally happening at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after years of delays. While SpaceX continues to fly its Crew Dragon spacecraft, Starliner experienced some problems with an early test flight and has been lagging behind.

NASA astronaut on Starliner mission is a 'Tennessean at heart'

This will be the third trip to the International Space Station for Wilmore, a retired U.S. Navy captain with more than 8,000 flight hours in tactical jets. Before joining NASA in 2000, Wilmore flew missions in operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Southern Watch.

Wilmore was a pilot on shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission in 2009 and commanded Expedition 42 for six months in 2014 and 2015. The 61-year-old Mount Juliet native graduated with a master’s degree in aviation systems from the UT Space Institute in 1994.

He also holds a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Tech University. Wilmore will participate in a live chat with the university from the International Space Station on May 10.

“I am a Tennessean at heart,” he told UT's Tickle College of Engineering. “That’s home, and you might see a Tennessee item or two while I’m up there.”

The May 6 launch marks the spacecraft's final test flight to "validate the transportation system ... and return to Earth with astronauts aboard," according to NASA.

Wilmore and Williams will spend about a week on the International Space Station before returning with the help of parachutes and airbags in the western U.S.

How UT alum Barry 'Butch' Wilmore became a NASA astronaut

Wilmore's first word as a child was not "mom" or "dad," he said on a March episode of NASA's "Houston We Have a Podcast." It was "why."

"I was always questioning everything," he said, including what it must be like to visit outer space.

It took Wilmore three applications just to get an interview with NASA, but even then he wasn't selected. The fourth time was the charm, moving past the interview stage all the way to astronaut.

Wilmore was selected by NASA for the astronaut corps in 2000 and has since flown to space twice, spending 178 combined days off Earth. He was assigned his upcoming mission in October 2020, replacing astronaut Chris Ferguson as commander. Ferguson stepped down from the flight due to family commitments.

Wilmore has two daughters, Daryn and Logan, and serves as a pastor for Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas. He is a fan of musicals and plans to play music on the way to the ISS, according to a March statement from Boeing.

Williams, his fellow Starliner crew member, said she might ask him to sing during the journey. After all, you have to find some way to pass the approximately 24-hour trip.

Who is Starliner pilot Sunita 'Suni' Williams?

Williams earned her bachelor's in physical science from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and earned her master's in engineering science from Florida Tech in 1995. Her accomplishments as a helicopter pilot include deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to support Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort, according to her NASA bio.

Selected by NASA in June 1998, Williams assisted with the early collaboration between NASA and the Russian Space Agency on the International Space Station before shifting to working with the Robotics branch for the ISS Robotic Arm.

During her two spaceflights, Williams completed seven spacewalks. All in all, she has spent a cumulative total of 322 days in space.

Boeing plays catch up with Elon Musk's SpaceX

Williams has been waiting nearly a decade for this mission.

Both SpaceX and Boeing were awarded contracts to fly NASA crews back in 2014, but it wasn't until 2020 that SpaceX began successfully flying crewed missions − three years after what was hoped.

"It's been tough watching our SpaceX colleagues fly again and again," Williams said. "But that fact has made us the Starliner crew."

With the extra time, she and Wilmore have been able to learn more about the vehicle while interacting with each other and the team at Boeing over the past two years.

If you want to watch live rocket launch coverage, FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team will provide updates at floridatoday.com/space, starting about 90 minutes before launch time. You can download the free app for iPhone or Android or type floridatoday.com/space into your browser.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: NASA Boeing Starliner test flight led by commander with Tennessee ties