President Donald Trump offered to shell out overtime pay for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two NASA astronauts who spent over nine months more than expected aboard the International Space Station.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, NASA confirmed that the astronauts were only paid an extra $5 per day while aboard the spacecraft and did not receive overtime pay.
Trump offered to cover the costs himself, saying, “If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket.”
“When NASA astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, they receive regular, 40-hour work-week salaries,” Jimi Russell, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate spokesman, said.
“They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay. While in space, NASA astronauts are on official travel orders as federal employees, so their transportation, lodging, and meals are provided. They also are on long-term [temporary duty], and receive the incidentals amount for each day they are in space. Incidental expenses for travel to any location is currently $5 per day,” the statement continued.
Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth earlier this week after a SpaceX rocket retrieved them from the ISS.
During their extended 286-day stay in space, Williams and Wilmore received a total of $1,430 in per diem payments. They each receive an annual salary of $152,258, which is consistent with the pay scale for senior federal employees.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE STRANDED NASA ASTRONAUTS RETURNING TO EARTH
Both astronauts have reiterated that they did not view their extended stay as a hardship.
“This is my happy place,” Williams told reporters in September. “I love being up here in space. It’s just fun, you know?”
