Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman told Washingtonian that astronauts get a fixed salary without extra pay for overtime. She said they do receive a small daily allowance for extra expenses, which NASA is required to give them. For her, it was about $4 per day.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally coming back to Earth after spending almost nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). They were supposed to stay for only a week, but technical problems with Boeing’s Starline spacecraft delayed their return. They have been there since June 2023.
As the two astronauts get ready to return, reports say that NASA will pay them for their extended stay. However, they won’t get extra pay like regular overtime.
Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman told Washingtonian that astronauts receive their normal salary without overtime. She said they do get a small daily allowance for extra expenses. For her, it was about $4 per day.
Based on Coleman’s experience during her 159-day mission in 2010-11, where she received about $636 for extra expenses, Williams and Wilmore, who have spent 287 days in space, are expected to get around $1,148 each in extra pay.
Williams and Wilmore have a GS-15 rank, the highest in the US General Pay Schedule. Their yearly salary is between $125,133 and $162,672. Because they stayed longer than planned, they will earn between $93,850 and $122,004 for the extra nine months. With the additional allowance, their total earnings from the mission will be between $94,998 and $123,152.
NASA has confirmed that they will return on the evening of March 18. The SpaceX capsule carrying Williams, Wilmore, and two other astronauts will leave the ISS early Tuesday, depending on the weather. The undocking process is set to start at 12:45 am EDT (10:15 am IST) on March 18, with landing expected at around 5:57 pm EDT (3:27 am IST on Wednesday).
Their mission was originally supposed to last only a week, but due to delays, they have now spent nine months in space. This marks an unexpected chapter in Boeing’s first crewed Starline flight.
