NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, who was stranded in space for nearly a year, touched on the importance of faith during a press conference on Monday.
Wilmore spent nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with fellow astronaut Suni Williams, beginning in June 2024. The pair were stuck there for over 280 days, though they initially planned to be there for only eight days.
After landing at the ISS, the astronauts’ Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered technical issues, which led NASA to decide it was unsafe to return the astronauts to Earth. The Biden administration was blamed by critics for leaving the astronauts stranded, and Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon capsule on March 18.
At the Monday press conference, Wilmore was candid about his relationship with God when a reporter asked about faith in space.
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“I heard that you were still attending your church services from space. Can you tell me a bit about why that was important for you to do?” the journalist asked.
“Well, goodness, the Word of God … I need it,” the astronaut began. “My pastors are the finest pastors on or off, in this case, the planet.”
“And to tie in and to worship with my church family was vital,” Wilmore added. “I mean, it’s part of what makes me go.”
Wilmore also shouted out a Tennessee church, saying he would watch their services while aboard the ISS.
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“I also [tuned] into Grace Baptist Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. A buddy of mine is an elder there and a pastor there, and I would watch their service as well, every single week,” the astronaut continued.
Wilmore described the weekly services as “invigorating” and emphasized how important Christian fellowship is to him.
“Part of what I need, as a believer in Jesus Christ, to continue that focus – a system, day in and day out, because I need that fellowship, even though it’s fellowship from afar,” Wilmore explained.
“And it’s not like being fellowship up close, but still I need it.”
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Curto and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
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