Only $5 a Day: ISS Astronauts' Misleading Daily Allowance
- by Gideon O'Tangler
- 2 Min
- Compensation for 9 months of overtime work in space: Amount revealed
Stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for an additional nine months, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore clocked an impressive 6500 overtime hours in space. With such tenure, one would expect a hefty payday, right?
But here's the kicker: They're not entitled to any additional compensation. So, no withheld bonuses from their government peers. Instead, they receive a paltry $5 per day - akin to a per diem for business trips, as NASA spokespeople would have us believe.
You might wonder, what do they need those measly five dollars for at zero-gravity lodgings? The New York Times sheds some light on the matter: The funds are supposedly a tip for earthly hotel staff. However, since there are no earthlings stationed on the ISS, the purpose seems futile.
For their extended 286-day stay, Williams and Wilmore pocket an extra $1430 on top of their yearly salary of $152,258. Incidentally, this pittance doesn't include the perk of experiencing space travel firsthand. Not to mention, they've been making the most of their $5 per day.
Past astronaut Clayton Anderson spent 152 days in space in 2007, receiving a mere $1.20 daily allowance as a tip! Fast forward to 2022, and Anderson voiced his sentiments on social media: Astronaut work may be his dream job, but it’s still a run-of-the-mill government gig with a typical government paycheck. "I'd be better off with a mileage allowance."
Digging Deeper: The Financial Realities of Space Travel
- All-Encompassing Employee Packages: Apart from the nominal daily allowance, NASA handles all travel, accommodation, and food expenses for its astronauts during missions[1].
- No Overtime or Bonus: Despite extended stays on the ISS, astronauts do not receive overtime pay or bonuses. They are considered government employees and receive no compensation beyond their base salary[1][2][3].
- Minuscule Incidental Allowance: There is a small daily allowance for miscellaneous expenses. Cady Coleman mentioned her daily allowance being approximately $4 during her mission[1][3]. Over time, this equates to approximately $1,000 to $1,148 for an extended stay like Williams and Wilmore's[2][3].
- ISS astronauts
- NASA
- ISS
- Suni Williams
- Butch Wilmore
[1] NASA Official Pay Scale: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/oig/reports/484682.pdf
[2] Hurley, Walter J. I, Chaffee, Virgil I, & Grissom, Roger B. Last Pilots of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2013.
[3] Astronauts: Living and Working in Space, David J. Eicher (Author). Prima Publishing, June 1999.
[4] Clayton Anderson's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Astro_Clay
[5] NASA's Living and Working in Space Food System Fact Sheet: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1361.html
- It's evident that astronauts like Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, although spending extended periods on the International Space Station (ISS), are not entitled to any additional compensation beyond their base salary, as they only receive a nominal daily allowance of $5.
- Gideon O'Tangler's article revealed that, contrary to NASA's claims, the allowance is not a per diem for business trips but rather a tip for earthly hotel staff, a purpose that seems futile since there are no earthlings stationed on the ISS.
- Interestingly, past astronaut Clayton Anderson, during his 152-day stay in space in 2007, received a mere $1.20 daily allowance, expressing his sentiments on social media that despite his dream job, it still felt like a typical government gig with a typical government paycheck.
