Opry goes above and beyond - like outer space

Saturday, July 20, 2024 – The Grand Ole Opry was connected to the International Space Station today to welcome its very first radio guest announcer from outside planet earth, NASA astronaut and Retired U.S. Navy Captain Barry "Butch" E. Wilmore.

Wilmore is currently serving as the commander of the crew flight test mission aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft – the first crewed flight for that vehicle – and his third mission aboard the International Space Station.

Wilmore and his 5-person flight crew treated the Opry audience to a performance of "Rocky Top," in honor of their appearance on the Opry and in celebration of the University of Tennessee Volunteer baseball team in winning their first NCAA championship.

The day marked the anniversary 55 years ago when Commander Neal Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the surface of the moon.

Wilmore was raised just down the road from the Opry House in Mount Juliet, Tenn. where his parents still reside. He has had three Spaceflights, the first of which was an 11-day Space Shuttle mission in November 2009, to the International Space Station. Wilmore was designated as pilot with five other crew members on Space Shuttle Atlantis for the mission STS-129. He served as part of Expedition 41 to the International Space Station, and this year returned to the ISS, which he called from tonight.