I am re-adjusting the mission rewards to account for the fact that personnel and fuel to be delivered/picked up are variable. Do these min/max numbers seem okay to you? I know, game balance is still an issue. Keep in mind that for the "high reward" missions below you will have to have significant space for cabins or cargo.
Assumptions:
Hydrogen fuel: $1
Passenger cabin: $1350
Variables:
Fuel delivered (depending on fuel tank mass and future nav target of ship to be rescued) => max: 440t/min:1t
Personnel delivered/picked up => 50:50 chance of max:8/min:1 or max:28/min:2.
Mission target distance => same planet, same system, other system
Calc Rules:
Base price per mission target distance (+/-50%) of $200, $1000, $2000 for same planet, same system, other system
Value of commodities delivered/picked up * 10
Value of cabins necessary for transport * 1.15 (copied that number from walterar)
Just a quick thought: I don't think a passenger cabin necessarily aught to repay itself after only one mission. It is an investment in the ship and would require some work before it pays itself back.