U.S. President Donald Trump talked about the case of overtime payment for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who stayed an unexpected 278 extra days on the International Space Station (ISS) following a malfunctioning spacecraft. During his response to a question by a reporter, Trump diverted his attention to complementing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on safely bringing back the astronauts.
“If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket,” Trump said in referring to the non-payment of overtime to the astronauts. Trump also gave credit to Musk’s efforts in space exploration, adding, “And I want to thank Elon Musk, by the way, because think if we don’t have him.”
REPORTER: The two astronauts that you just helped save from space, they didn’t get any overtime pay…@POTUS: “If I have to, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket… and I want to thank @elonmusk by the way because think if we don’t have him.” pic.twitter.com/b86RanXggp
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 21, 2025
The move comes as NASA’s pay policies face increased scrutiny. According to the existing federal rules, astronauts on missions are considered government employees on official travel orders, so they are not entitled to overtime, holiday pay, or weekend pay.
Throughout their extended 286-day mission, Williams and Wilmore collected a total of about $1,430 in per diem payments. Their yearly salary stays at around $152,258, equivalent to the compensation level for upper-level federal officials.
The controversy ignited a debate of whether NASA’s policies should be revised to ensure against unplanned mission extensions, especially when space travelers are presented with extended residencies because of mechanical malfunctions. Although the comments by Trump brought the matter into focus, neither the administration nor NASA issued policy changes since then.
As talks go on, the accident has raised attention to the bigger issues astronauts go through, not only in space, but in receiving reasonable pay for their involvement in high-risk missions.
