Wait until Fortune Magazine hears what E-1s do for their pay
The two NASA astronauts stranded by Boeing’s failed Starliner return on a SpaceX capsule, and were greeted by dolphins
Fortune Magazine published a piece about the two NASA astronauts who were stuck on the International Space Station for nine months. The Boeing Starliner they’d ridden to the ISS on its first manned shakedown cruise left them stuck up there. While SpaceX had the capacity to retrieve them (as NASA has no manned spacecraft of their own anymore), it has been alleged that the Biden Administration didn’t want to give Elon Musk the business. By the time this had happened, Musk had allied himself with Trump, and in an election year, they didn’t want to make them look better. With a new president, SpaceX went up and got them. They splashed down this week, and Neptune sent some dolphins to greet them.
Fortune’s article is about how these astronauts didn’t get any additional pay (not overtime nor hazard pay) in exchange for their unscheduled months long ride in space. Fortune even laments the low pay of a NASA astronaut.
NASA astronauts like the Boeing Starliner’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore brave the profession for quite little: They make an annual salary of $152,258, according to NASA’s 2024 pay rates.
Now I know that Fortune probably pays its people well, but if they think that $150k a year is “quite little”, then I’m writing for the wrong organization. I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt, that they mean it’s “quite little” for the danger astronauts face, what with the primary hazard of the job being exploding on take off, being incinerated on re-entry, or, freezing and suffocating should their tin can leak. For someone who’s never faced any real danger in their cushy lives, I could see where they’d think that astronauts are underpaid. Federal judges make a minimum of $243k, Congressmen $174k, and Border Patrol agents from $50k-90k.
Wait until Fortune Magazine hears what hazards our men and women in uniform are expected to face for far, far less than $150k a year…
Category: NASA
As a drinking, young E-2/3 in Okinawa in 1984/85, we were sitting around one night and figured, if I remember correctly, I saw an ond LES from many years ago recently and I think I was pulling in $275 every 2 weeks, NET…so the gross was somewhat higher ($350-ish?!) but we had figured we were making about $1 an hour, every hour, 24 hours a day, week, month year etc etc.
Chew on that. 😛
Getting the PFC/E-3 out of AIT in ’71 bumped me to an astonishing $150.00 a month, IIRC. Felt rich I tell…RICH! I’m thinking E-2 was around $97 a month then. Claw Daddy would know.
During The WBTS Confederate Privates made around $11.00, Feds around $13.00. Then, as now, and henceforth forever more, it will ALWAYS be a “rich man’s war…but a poor man’s fight…”
I just did my son’s taxes, and military pay has come along way since any of us served. He made (E4/4 years) $35K plus in pay plus full bennies, TSP, meals, and the equivalent of dorm-room for one. Not bad for an 23 yr old with no college.
Yep. 1997 I was E4 with 3.5 years in. Net pay $578.00 per paid period.
Wow. When I enlisted it was $300/month…gross.
Yeah, we (USAF then) did the same thing circa 1973~78. But the “24/365=$1.00/hr” actually broke down to 8hrs/d, 5days/week, 30 calendar days annual leave. So we just didn’t bother trying to figure out our real hourly pay. Then we went out and got a few liters at a local gasthaus.
I’m thinking hazard pay is probably warranted. No space station movie ever goes well at the end.
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Atleast flight pay.
Of the roughly 394 American that have attempted to go to space and return safely 19 (or around 5%) have died in that attempt, normally in horrible ways. I don’t know of any other job that has such a high mortality rate.
One can argue the whole risk/ reward matrix and wonder if it is worth it? It’s fair to say that just like with military service, most aren’t in it for the money.
At least that ratio is better than the one for the russkies..
Alas, poor Laika….
Hack Stone can think of a more hazardous career field, that being “aspiring rapper”. Every news article about an inner city homicide describes the “victim” as an aspiring rapper. Coming in a Number 2 is “aspiring basketball/football player”.
Ah Hack, these professions are not dangerous in of themselves. When was the last time a pro basketball player dropped dead on the court? Rappers do get killed on stage from time to time but it is mostly off duty activity that gets them rebooted into the next life.
They should at least get overseas pay, with the emphasis on OVER.
$350 every two weeks!
Aside, I would still want fucking back pay for being left up there for nine months.
I think they received the pay they agreed on. They knew the hazards. I don’t think anything else is owed.
Same as when you enlist. You know the pay, you know the hazards. Except we get some extra benefits, education, medical care, hazardous duty pay / compensation.
It’s up to the astronauts to know what they’re in for, and what they can expect to get for pay or other benefits. No one should be complaining.
What were hearing is some chump reporter trying to find an angle to make the claim someone got ripped off. I don’t think so!
As soon as astronauts start grappling their way through live space-minefields, I’ll agree they don’t get paid enough.
That federal judges and congressmen make more money… well, we’re at a point where pay is too high rather than not high enough.
“Grappling,” for the non-combat-engineers in the audience, is not a metaphor. I mean literally throwing a grappling hook.