NASA paid $26.6 million to family members of the astronauts who died on the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.
Documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel through a federal Freedom of Information Act request show that former FBI Director William Webster helped negotiate out-of-court settlements with the families.
NASA obtained money for the settlement through a congressional appropriation in 2004. The U.S. space agency had never before disclosed the settlement to protect the privacy of the Columbia families. The families did not wish to discuss the matter after it was settled.
The released documents did not note how much money each family received, but Jon Clark, husband of Columbia astronaut Laurel Clark, said the figures were on the "low side" of what families were seeking.
He said parents, children and spouses were all compensated and astronauts with doctoral degrees received a bit more than those who held master's degrees.
"It wasn't a lot of money. A few million [dollars] isn't much," he said. "We had to prove our loved ones were worth something."
The Orlando Sentinel also reported that two astronaut families had ordered preflight insurance policies through NASA, but the agency failed to obtain the additional coverage before the accident.
All the families threatened to go public before the agency paid the two families the additional insurance, the newspaper said.
Midlands Astronomy Club.
Radio Presenter (Midlands 103), Space Enthusiast, Astronomy Outreach Co-ordinator.
Former IFAS Chairperson and Secretary.
  