Trump pledges personal funds for delayed astronauts' overtime
Astronauts whose stay on the International Space Station (ISS) was extended by 278 days due to malfunctions and delays will receive overtime pay, announced U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. He added that if necessary, he will pay them out of his own pocket.
According to NASA rules, Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore are not entitled to overtime pay. They are only eligible for an allowance of £4 per day to cover unforeseen expenses during the mission, as "The New York Times" reported on Thursday.
This would mean that in addition to the base salary of about £110,000 per year, Wilmore and Williams were given approximately £1,170 for the 286 days they spent in space, calculated "NYT".
Additional compensation for astronauts
Trump assured, however, that the astronauts would receive compensation for the additional time spent on the space station. "If I have to, I'll pay it out of my own pocket… and I want to thank Elon Musk by the way because think if we don't have him," he said, as quoted by the AP agency.
In June of last year, Williams and Wilmore flew to space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft's first mission. They were supposed to remain there for eight days, but issues with the propulsion system, including a helium leak and engine failures, caused a series of delays. Ultimately, they returned to Earth last week, after 286 days.
