Trump promised to pay overtime to astronauts stuck on the ISS.

US President Donald Trump, during a conversation with reporters at the White House on March 21, said he was ready to personally pay for the overtime work of American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).

"No one has ever told me about this. If necessary, I will pay for everything from my personal pocket," Trump said, commenting on the information that the astronauts have not yet received overtime payments on the station.

At the same time, the American leader added that he considers the amounts owed to the participants of the space mission to be too small, given what they have been through.

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A day earlier, the American newspaper The New York Times reported that the US National Aerospace Administration for Aeronautics and Space Exploration (NASA) had not paid overtime to astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were stuck on the ISS. According to the publication, they earned about $1,430 for 286 days spent in space.

Williams and Wilmore arrived on the ISS on June 6, 2024. It was planned that the astronauts would evaluate the capabilities of the Boeing Starline capsule and return home in no more than 10 days. However, due to a number of technical problems and concerns, they remained on board the space station instead of other astronauts.

On March 18, Williams, Wilmore, Alexander Gorbunov and Nick Hague were picked up from the station by the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft, which landed off the coast of Florida the next day.