Sunita William Salary and Net Worth: Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Are Finally Coming Home

After spending nearly nine months floating hundreds of miles above Earth, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally packing their bags—well, space bags—and heading home. What was supposed to be a one-week mission has turned into a lengthy and unexpected stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), all thanks to a technical glitch with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

But now, with NASA confirming their return scheduled for the evening of March 18, 2025, Williams and Wilmore are preparing to make that long-awaited re-entry aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon. And yep, in true international cooperation fashion, their journey will also include one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut hitching a ride back to Earth.

The Space Pay Breakdown—No, It’s Not Like Overtime

You’d think being stuck in space for an extra eight months would come with a Hollywood-style bonus, right? Well, NASA’s pay system is a little more… grounded.

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Williams and Wilmore both hold GS-15 rankings, which is the highest level in the US General Schedule Pay Scale. That puts their base annual salaries between $125,133 and $162,672. Not bad at all, but certainly not the “astronaut-movie-star” salary many people imagine.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Since their mission was unexpectedly extended by roughly 9 months, NASA is giving them what you could call “space hazard pay”—but it’s definitely not your typical overtime check. Their additional allowance for that extra time in orbit comes to about $93,850 to $122,004.

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All told, when you factor in their base salaries and extra allowances, they’ll walk away from this mission with total earnings of $94,998 to $123,152. Not exactly Jeff Bezos money, but a respectable sum for spending almost a year away from family, gravity, and anything resembling a normal day.

The Reality of Astronaut Compensation

And just when you thought this sounded like a pretty sweet deal, there’s a little fine print. Cady Coleman, a former NASA astronaut, explained to Washingtonian that astronauts don’t actually get traditional overtime for those extra hours—or months.

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

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Yep, you read that right. Four bucks a day. In space.

Based on Coleman’s experience—she received about $636 in incidental pay for her 159-day mission back in 2010-11—it’s estimated that both Williams and Wilmore will each get about $1,148 in additional incidental pay for their 287-day mission. That’s about the price of a round-trip ticket to Orlando, not exactly what you’d expect for someone clocking overtime in zero gravity.

Sunita Williams: A Veteran of the Cosmos

Let’s give a quick nod to Sunita Williams herself. The 59-year-old astronaut is no stranger to the ISS. This latest mission only adds to her already storied résumé, which includes two previous trips to space and multiple spacewalks under her belt. Williams, who has been a staple of NASA’s astronaut corps for years, is a real-life superhero to many aspiring scientists and engineers.

Beyond the paycheck, Sunita Williams and her husband, Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal, have built a comfortable life. According to recent reports, the couple’s net worth is estimated at around $5 million as of 2025, thanks to her long career with NASA, speaking engagements, and other ventures.

The Bigger Picture

While the numbers might not be as flashy as what Hollywood might have you believe astronauts earn, Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay highlights something deeper about the profession: it’s rarely about the paycheck. These are people who sign up for missions knowing full well the risks—and the bureaucracy that comes with government jobs.

The technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner were, of course, unforeseen, and NASA made sure to emphasize that the astronauts were never in danger. But being away from home for almost nine months longer than planned is no small feat. It speaks volumes about their resilience and professionalism.

The Return Ride

It’s also poetic that SpaceX—Boeing’s key competitor in the new space race—is the one bringing them back. The Crew Dragon capsule will be their Uber ride back to Earth, proving once again that in space, collaboration beats competition when safety is on the line.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are about to finally get their “welcome home” hugs, some real food, and—let’s be honest—probably a well-deserved vacation. Even though they aren’t pulling in CEO-sized bonuses for their extended space tour, their return is a reminder of the sacrifices astronauts make to push humanity’s boundaries.

As for that extra $4-a-day incidental pay? Let’s hope they at least use it on something fun once they’re back under Earth’s gravity.