Астронавтка Суніта Вільямс/NASA
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who, as part of the first test flight of the spacecraft Boeing Starliner were forced to spend 286 days in orbit instead of 8, and were not compensated.
«While in space, NASA astronauts have official travel orders as federal employees. This means that they did not receive overtime pay, vacation pay, or hazard compensation for their long stays», — confirmed Jimmy Russell, spokesman for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
The only additional payments were $5 per day to cover incidentals. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) includes commissions and tips paid to baggage handlers and service personnel in hotels and on passenger ships as such expenses.
In this regard, the crew Boeing Starliner in addition to the standard annual salary of $152,258, will receive an additional $1,430 for the 286 days he was forced to spend aboard the International Space Station. Millions of people around the world dream of becoming astronauts and flying into space, but only a few succeed.
«There is no risk pay, no overtime, no working hours. There is no financial incentive to stay in space longer», — says astronaut Mike Massimino, a participant in two space missions.
Meanwhile, Butch Wilmore noted that being in space makes him happy.
«I like being in space. It’s just fun, you know? We didn’t feel abandoned, we didn’t feel stuck, we didn’t feel stranded», — Wilmore added.
According to Ken Bowersox, NASA’s mission manager for space operations and a former astronaut, every astronaut is taught not to think about when they will return to Earth. They have to think about how well the mission is going and whether it will be possible to stay in space longer.
Over the course of a period of forced waiting aboard the International Space Station, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore conducted important research, tested equipment, and participated in ISS maintenance. In particular, Wilmore took part in setting up the new airlock, and Williams set an absolute record among female astronauts for the amount of time spent in outer space, staying outside the ISS for 62 hours and 6 minutes. She also became the first female astronaut to be photographed from Earth during a spacewalk.
Source: ZMEScience