Former US President Donald Trump expressed surprise on Friday upon learning that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore did not receive overtime pay for their prolonged nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Addressing the media, Trump suggested he might personally cover the amount if necessary, reportedly amounting to $1,430 per astronaut ($5/day for 286 days).
“Nobody ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I will pay it out of my own pocket,” Trump said, adding, “That’s not a lot. For what they had to go through.”
Trump also thanked Elon Musk and SpaceX for safely returning the astronauts—Williams, Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—via a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which splashed down off Tallahassee, Florida, on March 19, 2025.
Williams and Wilmore, test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner capsule, were originally assigned an eight-day mission, but due to technical issues with their spacecraft, their return was delayed for over nine months. The Starliner eventually returned to Earth without them in September 2024 after helium leaks and thruster failures.
Highlighting Musk’s role, Trump remarked, “If we don’t have Elon, they could be up there a long time. Who else is going to get them?”
Trump further drew parallels between the challenges faced by Musk’s companies and recent acts of vandalism, referencing Tesla’s reported attacks and alluding to the January 6 riots.
#SunitaWilliams
#DonaldTrump
#SpaceXReturn
#ISSmission2025