Two astronauts of the US space agency NASA have been stranded on the International Space Station for the last 9 months. Indian-American astronauts Sunita Williams and Burch Wilmore visited the space station in June last year as part of an 8-day mission, but their return process has been postponed several times due to technical reasons. Now, it is expected that on March 19, these two astronauts will return to Earth via SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Will Sunita Williams get overtime pay?
While there is talk of Sunita Williams returning to Earth, the question is also being raised whether she will get extra salary or overtime for spending such a long time in space? Sunita and Burch Wilmore were sent for an 8-day mission, but now their tenure has been extended to 9 months. In this situation, the question is whether they will get extra salary? This question has been answered by a former astronaut.
What does the former astronaut have to say?
Former NASA astronaut Kady Coleman said that there is no special provision for overtime pay for astronauts. She said that since astronauts are employees of the US government, their time spent in space is considered as normal work. During this time they receive regular salary. Apart from this, NASA also bears the cost of their food and stay on the space station.
How much extra salary will be given?
Kady Coleman told a news website called Washingtonian that the only extra salary that astronauts get is their daily allowance, which is very little. This amount is about $4, or about Rs 347 per day. In 2010-11, when Kady Coleman traveled on a 159-day space mission, she received an allowance of about $636, or about Rs 55,000, in addition to her salary.
What did NASA say?
Sunita Williams and Birch Wilmore have spent more than 285 days in space. Accordingly, apart from their salary, they will get an additional allowance of only $1,100 i.e. about Rs 1 lakh. However, NASA says that technically both the astronauts are not stranded on the space station, because they are actively working there. According to NASA, their work is continuing and they are fully involved in the mission.
The mission of Sunita Williams and Burch Wilmore has brought forth many new information related to space travel. Talking about overtime pay, it is clear that there is no special overtime pay for NASA astronauts. For them it is considered as a normal job, and they receive some small allowances along with the regular salary. Thus, even if their mission lasts much longer than expected, they will not get any overtime benefits.
