Nine months stranded in space come at a price: Here’s how much NASA astronauts Butch and Suni are getting paid for their “overtime”

Spending nearly nine months in space may sound like an adventure of a lifetime, but for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, it also came with an unexpected twist—a significantly extended mission. After being stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues, they finally returned to Earth on March 18 as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, NASA confirmed.

But how much extra did they earn for their extended stay in orbit? The answer might surprise you.

Why were these NASA astronauts stuck in space?

Wilmore and Williams originally launched to the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner as part of its first crewed test flight. However, what was supposed to be a routine mission quickly turned into an unexpected delay when technical malfunctions jeopardized their return.

NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters on June 6, just as Starliner approached the ISS. As a result, the two astronauts had to remain in space far longer than planned while engineers worked to resolve the issues.

On March 18, after 286 days in space, Wilmore and Williams safely splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, alongside fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had spent 171 days in orbit.

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How much extra pay did Butch and Suni earn for their extra time in space?

Despite the grueling mission extension, NASA’s compensation structure doesn’t include hefty bonuses for unexpected delays. According to Jimi Russell, spokesperson for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, astronauts are considered federal employees on official travel orders while in space. This means they receive a daily stipend for incidental expenses—just $5 per day.

For their 286 days in space, Wilmore and Williams will each receive an additional $1,430 on top of their annual salary. NASA reports that the typical salary for astronauts is approximately $152,258 per year.

Original article written by Corina González, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Greg Heilman.

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