How Much NASA Pays Sunita Williams for Her Nine-Month Stay in Space?
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months due to technical issues, are set to return to Earth on March 19. Their mission was originally planned for just eight days, but technical problems forced them to remain aboard the ISS for an extended period. Amid this prolonged stay, discussions have arisen regarding their compensation.
According to retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, astronauts do not receive special overtime pay. Since they are government employees, their time in space is considered regular working hours, similar to their duties on Earth. NASA covers their food and other expenses at the ISS, and their standard salaries remain unchanged. Additionally, they receive a personal allowance of $4 per day (approximately ₹347).
Coleman, who spent 159 days on a mission between 2010 and 2011, received an additional $636 (around ₹55,000). Similarly, for their 287-day stay, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will each receive an additional $1,148 (approximately ₹1 lakh). NASA clarified that since astronauts continue to work on the ISS, they are not technically considered stranded.
Williams and Wilmore are classified under the GS-15 pay grade, the highest level in the U.S. government's General Schedule (GS) system. The annual base salary for this grade ranges from $125,133 to $162,672 (approximately ₹1.08 crore to ₹1.41 crore). For their nine-month stay on the ISS, they will earn between $93,850 and $122,004 (around ₹81 lakh to ₹1.05 crore). Including their additional personal allowance of $1,148, their total earnings will range from $94,998 to $123,152 (approximately ₹82 lakh to ₹1.06 crore).
Williams and Wilmore traveled to the ISS as part of the Boeing Starliner test flight. However, technical problems with their spacecraft delayed their return journey. Recently, NASA approved a rescue mission, paving the way for their return to Earth.
Meanwhile, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 PM on Friday (4:33 AM IST on Saturday). The Dragon docked with the ISS around 10:00 AM.
The NASA-SpaceX Crew-10 mission carried four new crew members to the ISS. The team includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nicole Aunapu Mann, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
