Former U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed surprise and concern over the modest overtime pay received by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams during her extended mission in space. Williams, along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, spent an additional 278 days in orbit due to technical issues with their spacecraft, far exceeding the original eight-day mission plan.
As federal employees, NASA astronauts receive a fixed salary and are not entitled to traditional overtime pay. Instead, they are granted a daily allowance of $5 (approximately Rs 430) for incidental expenses during their time in space. For the extended mission, this amounted to $1,430 (around Rs 1.22 lakh) in additional compensation.
When informed of this during a press interaction, Trump appeared taken aback, stating, “Is that all? That’s not a lot for what they had to go through.” He went on to pledge that, if necessary, he would personally cover the overtime pay for the astronauts. Trump also praised SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for facilitating the safe return of the astronauts, emphasizing the critical role of private space exploration in such missions.
The revelation has sparked discussions about the compensation policies for astronauts, with many questioning whether the current system adequately reflects the risks and sacrifices involved in space exploration. As the debate continues, Williams and Wilmore have returned to Earth and are undergoing rehabilitation to recover from the physical toll of their extended stay in space.
