President Donald Trump has given special offer to astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. Trump said he is ready to pay the overtime salary to astronauts who returned to earth earlier this week after an unexpected nine month stay in space. Duo had spent an additional 278 days in space after their week-long mission in June last year turned into a nine-month ordeal following technical glitches in the Boeing spacecraft.
Trump asked by a reporter at the White House if the astronauts would receive any extra pay, the President said, Nobody’s ever mentioned this to me. If I have to, I will pay it out of my own pocket. Nasa takes care of their transportation, food, and lodging. The only pay they are entitled to due to extra time is a meagre daily allowance for incidentals, which is just USD 5 per day (Rs 430). Thus, Williams and Wilmore, despite enduring immense physical and mental toll, will get USD 1,430 (Rs 1,22,980.50) in extra pay.
Williams and Wilmore will not receive any salary for the extra time spent in space. Nasa astronauts are US federal employees, and they get a fixed salary irrespective of how long they remain in space. Nasa takes care of their transportation, food, and lodging. The only pay they are entitled to due to extra time is a meagre daily allowance for incidentals, which is just USD 5 per day (Rs 430). Thus, Williams and Wilmore, despite enduring immense physical and mental toll, will get USD 1,430 (Rs 1,22,980.50) in extra pay.
NASA astronauts, such as Wilmore and Williams, have a 40-hour workweek, and they don’t get any overtime pay, weekend pay, or holiday pay. According to a report, Williams, who has considerable experience in missions, falls under GS-15 level, earning USD 152,258 (Rs 1,30,92,726.32) annually, in addition to health insurance and housing allowance.
Trump said the body starts to deteriorate” after a few months in space. If we don’t have Elon. They could be up there a long time. Who else is going to get them? Both Trump and Musk have accused the previous Joe Biden administration of abandoning Williams and Wilmore in space.