Why stranded astronauts will not receive any overtime benefits despite 8-day trip turning into 9 months

The two astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station won’t actually receive a hefty overtime payout, according to an expert.

In case you somehow haven’t heard, two NASA astronauts, Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams just completed an extended stay at the International Space Station.

The pair were only meant to be at the ISS for 8 days, but malfunctions with their returning vehicle meant their stay had to be extended, again and again.

But the pair finally landed back on planet Earth yesterday (March 18), in Florida, alongside the rescuing SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Since you can say this is likely one of the weirdest extended work trips, you would be forgiven for thinking the pair are in store for a huge payout - not only for the inconvenience but the work they did up there too.

Suni and Butch braced themselves as they came back to planet Earth (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, this likely won’t be the case.

They will be paid, but as astronauts’ pay structure is different, it won’t be a massive life changing sum, despite the uniqueness of the situation.

Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman spoke to Washingtonian and explained how payment works, saying they receive their standard salary without overtime benefits.

She said: “There is some small amount of money per day for incidentals that they end up being legally obligated to pay you. For me, it was around $4 a day.”

This is based on her 159-day mission in 2010-11 where she received approximately $636 in incidental pay.

Butch and Suni aren’t expected to take home the big bucks for their long stint in space as they are expected to earn around $1,148 each in additional allowances.

But don’t think the pair exactly have to be counting their pennies as both Williams and Wilmore hold GS-15 rankings, which is the highest tier in the US General Pay Schedule.

The NASA astronauts aren't expected to receive massive payouts (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Their base salaries range between $125,133 and $162,672 per year. Given their extended stay, their prorated earnings for the additional nine months amount to between $93,850 and $122,004. Factoring in the incidentals, their total estimated earnings from the mission will be between $94,998 and $123,152.

So, not bad for the oddest adventure of a lifetime. How many people can say they were stranded in space and got to live to tell the story?

Regardless of expected payouts, the pair are likely just happy to be back home and footage of them being picked up after landing in the ocean showed both in high spirits and smiling for cameras.

Welcome back, both!