NASA civilian astronaut salaries are determined by U.S. government pay scales. Here are the differences with ESA and SpaceX.
Many children dream of becoming astronauts, but few actually make it. Becoming a NASA astronaut is not easy. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, have a bachelor’s degree in science, engineering or mathematics, and have three years of professional experience or 1,000 hours of piloting an aircraft. They also must be equipped with specialized skills and pass a grueling selection process that is about 74 times harder than getting into Harvard. NASA selects new astronauts once every two years and consider that in 2017 it selected only 12 of the 18,300 candidates who applied.
How much do you earn with NASA, ESA and Spacex
NASA, being the largest space agency in the world, is a major destination for potential astronauts. The salaries of civilian astronauts are determined from the U.S. government pay scales – or more specifically grades GS-13 to GS-14. As of 2022, the GS-13 pay scale ranges from $81,216 to $105,579 per year. That’s up to $8,798.25 per month or $50.59 per hour. For the GS-14 that goes up to between $95,973 and $124,764 per year. Likewise, GS-14 means a maximum of $10,397 per month or $59.78 per hour. Highly experienced astronauts can receive the GS-15 pay scale, which guarantees them up to $146,757 per year.
However, salary isn’t everything when it comes to compensation. According to a 2017 NASA release, approximately 58 percent of all astronauts have a military background, and active duty service members who become astronauts bring with them most or all of their furloughs, bonuses, housing allowances, and other benefits. military grade.
The ESA
ESA – or European Space Agency – is the second (or third, depending on the parameters) largest space agency in the world. Headquartered in Paris, ESA is funded by 22 European member states including France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. It also receives funding from across the EU. New recruits in ESA’s Astronaut programs are usually paid on the A2 scale. The amount of which varies depending on the country of origin. In France, it starts from €5,845.25 per month (€70,143 per year). In Germany and Italy the figures are very similar: €5,549.70 per month (€66,588 per year). In the UK, the salary starts at £4,534.69 (£54,416 per year). However, this is only a starting scale. Astronauts can earn up to level A4 of the ESA pay scale (more or less 8 thousand euros per month).
How much SpaceX pays
SpaceX launched its first crewed spaceflight mission in 2020. They have been sending astronauts to and from the ISS since their first launch. However, SpaceX does not yet have its own astronaut program, but helps other agencies (NASA, for example) achieve their goals. Some see it as inevitable that SpaceX will eventually start training its own astronauts, and given that SpaceX is a private company, we can expect its astronauts to be paid well above NASA’s $146,000 limit.
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