The NASA answers the question that many of us do on the salary of an astronaut , and other curiosities.
The NASA sent the Thursday, May 27 two astronauts to the Space Station International aboard the ship Crew Dragon developed by SpaceX. Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will be the commander of the mission to the ISS. These two astronauts have been selected by NASA since 2000, and the agency has disclosed the salary each of their space travellers receives.
To be an astronaut you must have a very extensive preparation, NASA usually selects people with studies in some branch of science, pilots with many hours of flight and professionals with a doctorate or master’s degree.
Civil astronaut candidates are based on the United States Federal Government General Program salary scale that ranges in degrees from GS-12 to GS-13. This rating of each person is determined according to their academic achievements and experience.
How much does an astronaut earn
Currently, a NASA worker placed on GS-12 can start earning $ 65,140 a year, and a GS-13 can earn up to $ 100,701 a year.
Military astronaut candidates are assigned to Johnson Space Center and remain in an active duty state for pay, benefits, license, and other similar military matters.
More curiosities
The oldest astronaut to fly on the space shuttle was John Glenn at 77, who flew STS-95 in October / November 1998 and the youngest astronaut to date is Sally Ride at 32 years old.
To become a pilot astronaut, you must have at least 1,000 hours of experience in jet aircraft, a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or mathematics from an accredited institution.
In addition, you will have a big competition, as NASA receives 4,000 applications for approximately 20 vacancies every two years.
