NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched into what was initially an eight-day mission, have now spent over 9 months aboard the Worldwide House Station (ISS) as a result of unexpected technical points. Their much-delayed return to Earth is now scheduled for no sooner than March 19, with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft set to deliver them again.
Will Sunita Williams Be Paid Extra For Prolonged House Keep? (*9*)
The extended keep of the astronauts has sparked discussions about their remuneration. In accordance with retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, there isn’t any particular additional time pay for astronauts. As federal staff, they proceed to obtain their common salaries, whereas NASA covers their meals and residing bills on the ISS.
Coleman instructed Washingtonian, “There may be some small amount of cash per day for incidentals that they find yourself being legally obligated to pay you”. Drawing from her personal expertise throughout a 159-day mission in 2010-11, she acknowledged that it was round $4 a day, so she obtained a complete of $636 (over Rs 55,000) in additional pay.
Making use of the identical calculation, Williams and Wilmore—who’ve spent over 287 days in area—are anticipated to obtain simply $1,148 (round Rs 1 lakh) every in further pay.
Sunita Williams’s Doubtless Compensation(*9*)
NASA astronauts’ salaries are decided by the U.S. authorities’s Common Schedule (GS) pay scale, usually starting from GS-12 to GS-15, primarily based on expertise and {qualifications}. For the 12 months 2025, the GS-15 pay scale is as follows:
– GS-15 Step 1: $125,133 per 12 months
– GS-15 Step 10: $162,672 per 12 months
Sunita Williams, a seasoned astronaut with intensive mission expertise, is classed beneath the GS-15 pay grade, the best degree for federal staff. In accordance with out there knowledge, Williams and Wilmore’s annual base wage falls between $125,133 and $162,672 (roughly Rs 1.08 crore – Rs 1.41 crore).
For their prolonged nine-month keep on the ISS, their prorated salaries will vary between $93,850 and $122,004 (roughly Rs 81 lakh – Rs 1.05 crore). Factoring of their incidental pay of $1,148, their complete earnings for the mission are anticipated to be between $94,998 and $123,152 (roughly Rs 82 lakh – Rs 1.06 crore), NDTV reported.
Sunita Williams’s Return Mission Underway (*9*)
Williams and Wilmore, who had been a part of NASA’s Boeing Starliner take a look at flight, confronted a number of delays of their return as a result of technical malfunctions of their spacecraft. To facilitate their return, NASA not too long ago accepted a aid mission, and a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft was efficiently launched from Kennedy House Middle in Florida at 7:03 pm ET on Friday (4:33 am IST). The Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS round 10 am.
The NASA SpaceX Crew-10 mission has now arrived on the ISS, bringing 4 new crew members: NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Company astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The extended keep of Williams and Wilmore has additionally led to political controversy. Final week, US President Donald Trump posted on Fact Social, claiming that the astronauts had been “nearly deserted in area by the Biden Administration”. He additional acknowledged that he had requested Elon Musk, by way of SpaceX, to deliver them again.
Nonetheless, the US President’s remarks have been questioned, with stories noting that NASA had been actively engaged on plans for the astronauts’ return, and the company has repeatedly emphasised that they’ve remained engaged of their scientific and operational duties aboard the ISS.
Amid the extended delay, NASA has contended that the astronauts should not technically “stranded”, as they’re actively engaged on the ISS.
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