Will NASA pay Sunita Williams overtime salary for her extended stay in space? The answer may shock you

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are all set to return to Earth after spending nearly nine months in space. The astronauts will return via the Dragon spacecraft of SpaceX by March 19. The replacement, Crew-10, docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, March 16.

The amount the astronauts will make for their overstay in space is drawing interest. Will NASA pay them overtime salary? 

There is no special overtime salary that NASA astronauts are paid. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore might not be paid any extra amount for their extended stay in space, according to NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, quoted by Washingtonian, a monthly magazine.

Astronauts are paid like any federal employee

"Astronauts are paid like any federal employee on a business trip. They get their regular salary, no overtime, and NASA takes care of transportation, lodging, and food,” Coleman said in the interview.

On March 15, SpaceX and NASA launched a mission to bring back Williams and Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS), where they have been stranded all these months. The lift-off occurred at 7:03 ET on Friday, with a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-10 mission.

Earlier, SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov docked with ISS, Space X CEO Elon Musk announced on Sunday.

The only additional compensation Williams and Wilmore could receive is a small daily stipend for incidentals - reportedly just $4 ( ₹347) per day, Coleman said.

“There is some small amount of money per day for incidentals that they end up being legally obligated to pay you,” Coleman said when asked if Williams and Wilmore would be earning in overtime since their eight-day mission ballooned to nine months.

For example, during her 159-day mission in 2010-11, Coleman received a total of around $636 (over ₹55,000) in extra pay. Using same calculation, Williams and Wilmore could receive an extra amount of $1,148 (approximately ₹1 lakh) each for their 287 days stay in space.

What is Sunita William's salary?

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are classified under the GS-15 pay grade, the highest level for federal employees under the General Schedule (GS) system.

GS-15 government employees receive an annual base salary ranging between $125,133 - $162,672 (approximately ₹1.08 crore - ₹1.41 crore), according to media reports.

What is the Earth splashdown time?

Monday, March 17: 10:45 pm (EST) – Hatch closing coverage begins.

Tuesday, March 18 12:45 am (EST) – Undocking coverage begins on NASA

1:05 am (EST) – Undocking

5:57 pm (EST) – Splashdown (time is approximate) The anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast will take place around 5:57 pm Tuesday, Florida time, (3:27 am IST, March 19 (Wednesday).

7:30 pm (March 18, EST) or 5 am (March 19, IST) – Return-to-Earth media conference on NASA.