Both astronauts travelled to the ISS in June last year for a scheduled eight-day mission. They were forced to stay as the Boeing Starliner capsule developed issues with its propulsion system during its maiden test flight. The faulty capsule returned to Earth last September.
There is a question how much these astronauts are paid for enduring challenging conditions in space after being left stranded there through no fault of their own.
Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman told washingtonian.com that astronauts receive their regular salary with no overtime pay. The space agency covers the costs of transportation, lodging, and food, and there is a small daily allowance for incidentals.
Coleman noted, “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.”
According to official information on generalschedule.org, GS-15 government employees receive a base salary of between $1,25,133 and $1,62,672 (approximately ₹1.08 crore to ₹1.41 crore).
For reference, during her 159-day mission in 2010-11, Coleman received around $636 (over ₹55,000) in additional pay. Using the same calculation, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore—after spending over 287 days in space—will likely receive at least about $1,148 (approximately ₹1 lakh) each in extra compensation.
