The space saga of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore might've finally come to an end, but now the pair are back on solid Earth, it doesn't seem the media is letting up on its obsession with them.
Having been stranded on the International Space Station for a whopping nine months, Williams and Wilmore eventually made it back to Earth with a bump - thanks to a little help from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Although the pair were only supposed to be in space for eight days, it turned into an epic 286 days.
Their story grabbed headlines around the world, with Musk even claiming the Biden administration 'abandoned' them up there for political reasons. While the NASA astronauts claim they weren't abandoned up there, we're sure they're glad to be home.
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Still, things are only just beginning, with Williams and Wilmore quickly being rushed away on stretchers and thrown straight into a brutal 45-day rehab regime. Even though you might hope they'll be paid handsomely for their time in the stars, their pay is actually a shockingly small amount. Trump vowed to make sure they're compensated for their time in the immediate aftermath of their March 18 touchdown
As eported by the Daily Mail, Trump was informed that there would be no official overtime contingent for Williams and Wilmore, prompting the POTUS to say: "Nobody's ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I'll pay it out of my own pocket. I'll take care of it."
It comes after Wilmore's daughter claimed her father would only get $5 extra per day he was up in space, which works out at a pretty meager $1,430. This will be added to their annual salary, which could be anywhere between $125,00 and $163,000.
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Still, it sounds like Trump is willing to pay for their $5 incidentals and maybe something a little extra on the top.
Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman said that astronauts only receive a basic salary without overtime benefits, although they do get a small sum for 'incidentals'. Coleman went on to explain he got $4 a day for here 159-day mission in 2010, coming in at $636.
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Speaking to People, a NASA spokesperson explained why astronauts don't get paid overtime, stating: "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 TDY, and receive the incidentals amount for each day they are in space. The incidentals amount is reduced by the percentage required for the length of the trip per federal travel regulations.”
It seems that most of NASA's money is going elsewhere, but with it costing a whopping $69.75 million to launch a Falcon rocket in 2024, going to space isn't a cheap endeavor.
More than just not being paid handsomely for their extended stay in space, Williams and Wilmore are expected to be dealing with some serious side effects from long-term stays in space. As well as coping with muscle loss and being bombarded with potentially cancerous radiation, there's an unexpected side effect that could lead to them speaking differently. Considering the astronauts now have months of rehab to ensure, it hardly seems worth it for an extra $1,430.