US President Donald Trump has offered to pay NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Mitch Wilmore for their overtime work in space from his personal funds. The astronauts spent 286 days in space, earning $5 per day in incidentals. Trump also thanked Elon Musk for the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft used to bring the astronauts back to Earth. NASA astronauts typically earn over $1,250 annually without extra payment for overtime, weekends, or holidays.
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00:00Now, days after NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Mitch Wilmore landed on Earth, US President
00:06Donald Trump has said that he will be paying the NASA astronauts, both of them, out of
00:10his own pocket for the overtime that they did in space.
00:14Sunita and Mitch used to work 40 hours a week and they don't get extra payment for overtime,
00:19weekends or even working on holidays.
00:22Donald Trump also thanked Elon Musk for the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft.
00:27This was used to bring the stranded astronauts back home.
00:30According to NASA, astronauts earned over $1,250 last year.
00:35They also get extra money for small expenses, which is known as incidentals.
00:40Right now, the amount is $5 per day.
00:42Sunita and Mitch, they have spent close to 286 days in space.
00:47They are now all set to get an additional amount of $1,430 each.
00:58They didn't get any overtime pay for all that extra time.
01:01They got $5 a day per diem.
01:03For 286 days, that is $1,430 in extra pay.
01:10Is there anything the administration can do to get them, to make them whole?
01:15Well, nobody's ever mentioned this to me.
01:17If I have to, I'll pay it out of my own pocket, okay?
01:20I'll get it for them.
01:21Mr. President, can I say thank you very much?
01:23I like that.
01:24Mr. President, can I take a deal?
01:25I'll pay it right out of my...
01:26Is that all?
01:27That's not a lot for what they had to go through.