What was the settlement for the Challenger disaster?
The federal government and Morton Thiokol Inc. agreed to pay $7.7 million in cash and annuities to the families of four of the seven Challenger astronauts as part of a settlement aimed at avoiding lawsuits in the nation's worst space disaster, according to government documents released yesterday.
How much did the families of the Challenger astronauts get paid?
The families of four space shuttle astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster received a total of $7.7 million worth of long-term tax-free annuities from the Federal Government and the rocket manufacturer blamed for the accident, documents released today by the Justice Department show.
Should the Challenger families have been given more money?
Ronald D. Krist, a Houston attorney who represented survivors of the astronauts killed in the Apollo fire in 1967, as well as three families from the Challenger disaster, said the four Challenger families should have received more money and would have if they had had formal legal representation.
What was the settlement for the space shuttle crash victims' families?
There was a settlement paid to four of the astronaut’s families by both the US government and Morton Thiokol, the company that produced the Solid Rocket Boosters, with the government contributing 40% of the total. Other families did not agree with the terms of the agreement and settled separately with Thiokol. [ 1]
Did the Challenger crew families get compensation?
Families of four of the seven crew members killed in the Challenger explosion have settled with the government for total damages exceeding $750,000 for each family, with 60% of the sum to be provided by Morton Thiokol Inc., maker of the solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle, an Administration source said Monday.
Did the families of the Challenger crew sue NASA?
The wife of Challenger pilot Michael Smith sued NASA in 1987. But a federal judge in Orlando threw out the case, ruling that Smith, a Navy officer, died in the line of duty. She later settled directly with Morton Thiokol, as did the other families.
Did Christa McAuliffe's husband remarry?
Her parents worked with Framingham State College to establish the McAuliffe Center. Her husband Steven J. McAuliffe remarried and in 1992 became a federal judge, serving with the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord.
What happened to the Challenger crews bodies?
In March 1986, the remains of the astronauts were found in the debris of the crew cabin. Though all of the important pieces of the shuttle were retrieved by the time NASA closed its Challenger investigation in 1986, most of the spacecraft remained in the Atlantic Ocean.
How much money did the families of the Challenger explosion get?
$7.7 millionThe federal government and Morton Thiokol Inc. agreed to pay $7.7 million in cash and annuities to the families of four of the seven Challenger astronauts as part of a settlement aimed at avoiding lawsuits in the nation's worst space disaster, according to government documents released yesterday.
Did Christa McAuliffe's family make money?
The Justice Department said today it has reached confidential, out-of-court settlements worth at least $750,000 each with the families of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe and three other astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger last Jan.
What were the last words of the Challenger crew?
Previously, the last known words from the Challenger were those heard from Commander Dick Scobee to ground controllers, when he responded ″Roger, go at throttle up,″ confirming that the shuttle's main engines had been raised to full power.
Did Christa McAuliffe have life insurance?
Although all seven crew members aboard the space shuttle Challenger had signed routine waivers absolving the government of liability in the event of their deaths, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe was covered by a $1-million life insurance policy presented to her as a gift by a firm that insures communications satellites ...
What is Christa McAuliffe's husband doing now?
Personal life. McAuliffe continues to serve as a founding director for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.
Was the Challenger crew alive when they hit water?
WASHINGTON (AP) _ NASA's most experienced shuttle crewman said Friday it was possible, though uncertain, the Challenger astronauts were breathing and unconscious when their cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 28. Astronaut Robert L.
Did they ever find the bodies of the Columbia shuttle astronauts?
The remains of all seven astronauts were recovered, despite the obstacles of terrain and the scope of the search. Searchers combed through pine forests, hundreds of thousands of acres of underbrush, and boggy areas. Parts of the shuttle were found in Lake Nacogdoches and the Toledo Bend Reservoir.
Were Bodies of Columbia recovered?
Searching for Columbia debris NASA eventually recovered 84,000 pieces, representing nearly 40 percent of Columbia by weight. Among the recovered material were crew remains, which were identified with DNA. Much later, in 2008, NASA released a crew survival report detailing the Columbia crew's last few minutes.
Was the Challenger crew alive when they hit water?
WASHINGTON (AP) _ NASA's most experienced shuttle crewman said Friday it was possible, though uncertain, the Challenger astronauts were breathing and unconscious when their cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 28. Astronaut Robert L.
Did Christa McAuliffe have life insurance?
Although all seven crew members aboard the space shuttle Challenger had signed routine waivers absolving the government of liability in the event of their deaths, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe was covered by a $1-million life insurance policy presented to her as a gift by a firm that insures communications satellites ...
What happened to the Challenger crew after the explosion?
The SRBs separated from the orbiter once they had expended their fuel and fell into the Atlantic Ocean under a parachute. NASA retrieval teams recovered the SRBs and returned them to the Kennedy Space Center, where they were disassembled and their components were reused on future flights.
Is Morton Thiokol still in business?
An investigation found the cause was two O-ring seals in the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster, which had been manufactured by Morton Thiokol....Thiokol.IndustryAerospace, Manufacturing, ChemicalsFoundedDecember 5, 1929Defunct2007, succeeded by Orbital ATK; and later merged with Northrop Grumman6 more rows
How much money did the Challenger astronauts get?
The families of four space shuttle astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster received a total of $7.7 million worth of long-term tax-free annuities from the Federal Government and the rocket manufacturer blamed for the accident, documents released today by the Justice Department show.
Who is the widow of the Challenger pilot?
The last outstanding claim belongs to Jane Smith, widow of the Challenger pilot, 40-year-old Comdr. Michael J. Smith of the Navy. Mrs. Smith has a suit pending in Federal court in Florida against Morton Thiokol.
How many astronauts died in the Challenger explosion?
Gas Leak Was Blamed. Seven astronauts died in the Jan. 28, 1986, explosion of the Challenger shortly after it lifted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla. A Presidential commission attributed the explosion to a jet of hot gas that leaked through a joint in a solid-fuel booster rocket built by Morton Thiokol that ignited the main fuel tank.
When did Morton Thiokol settle the accident?
The families reached the agreement with the Government and Morton Thiokol in December 1986, and waived any further claims related to the accident. At the time, all parties agreed not to disclose the amount agreed upon to settle the claims, but there were indications that each family would get more than $750,000 in ''payments over an extended period of time.''
Who paid 60 percent of the settlement?
The terms of the agreement, which were not disclosed when they were reached 15 months ago, call for the rocket maker, Morton Thiokol Inc., to pay 60 percent of the settlement and for the Government to pick up the balance.
When was the Justice Department settlement?
The Justice Department today disclosed the amounts of the 1986 settlement after first denying requests for details from 15 news organizations and individuals, Ms. Brown said.
Who is Sarah Resnik Belfer divorced from?
Sarah Resnik Belfer, who is divorced from Mr. Resnik, and Bruce Jarvis, father of the Hughes employee , settled in January with the company for undisclosed amounts.
When was the Concord settlement made?
The settlement was negotiated in December 1986, but none of the terms were made public until yesterday when the Justice Department released overall figures in response to a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by NBC News, The Associated Press and the Concord {N.H.} Monitor.
How much did Morton Thiokol pay for the rocket boosters?
The documents show that Morton Thiokol, which manufactured the faulty solid rocket boosters blamed for the accident, paid 60 percent, or $4,641,000. The remainder, $3,094,000, was paid by the government.
Is the figure paid to survivors of the Challenger case reasonable?
But several other legal experts contended that figures were well within the range usually paid to survivors in mass disaster cases , particularly in view of the legal complexities of the Challenger case. "These numbers are on the high side of reasonable," said Mark Dombroff, the former chief of the Justice Department division that handles air crash litigation.
How much did Morton Thiokol pay for the Challenger?
The government and rocket manufacturer Morton Thiokol paid $7,735,000 in cash and annuities, dividing the cost 40-60, to settle all claims with the families of four of the crew members who died in the explosion of the shuttle Challenger, documents released Monday showed.
What did a lawyer who represented other family members call the settlements inadequate?
A lawyer who represented other family members called the settlements “woefully inadequate.”
How much money will the surviving spouses get?
The surviving four spouses and six children actually will receive more than $7.7 million among them because each was paid an annuity, which yields benefits larger than its cost over a period of many years. The total dollar amount the families ultimately will receive and how much each will get were not disclosed.
Who was the lawyer for McAuliffe's estate?
--The four families used no lawyers in the negotiations but relied on informal advice from Leo B. Lind Jr., the law partner of McAuliffe’s husband and executor of her estate.
Can the government be sued by survivors of military service?
--Although the Justice Department takes the position that the government may not be sued by survivors of military or federal civilian employees who die on duty, it contributed 40% of each of the settlements.
Who were the two astronauts who died together?
Ellison Onizuka and Michael Smith both were military officers. They trained together for two years to be astronauts. And they died together when the space shuttle Challenger blew up above the Florida coast.
Why did the government not want to be dragged into court by Thiokol?
The government did not want to be dragged into court by Thiokol for a replay of the errors by government officials who spurned the protests of company engineers that it was too cold to launch Challenger.
Did other families agree with the terms of the agreement and settled separately with Thiokol?
Other families did not agree with the terms of the agreement and settled separately with Thiokol. [ 1]
Did NASA know about the break up?
At the time of the break-up, no one at NASA knew of the damage. No one had seen it, and no instruments had detected it. And of course, there were no pictures of the damage because managers did not want any.
When was the Challenger explosion?
The Challenger explosion is the subject of Netflix’s new four-part documentary series Challenger: The Final Flight, exploring the stories around the tragedy of January 28, 1986.
Who were the astronauts on the Challenger?
Getty This November 1985 file provided by NASA shows the crew of the doomed US space shuttle Challenger. Front row from left are: astronauts Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair, back row from left: Ellison Onizuka, school teacher Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judith Resnik. Judith Resnik was one of the astronauts killed in ...
How much did Marvin Resnik settle for?
Marvin Resnik said the settlement was in the range of other Challenger settlements: between $2 million and $3.5 million, UPI reported. He said he was angry about how he and the other families were treated, but did not want to put his family through a long trial.
Who was the astronaut who died in the Challenger explosion?
Judith Resnik was one of the astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion in 1986. She didn’t have any children and she wasn’t married at the time. However, her ex-husband Michael Oldak later helped her father get a settlement related to her death. Learn more about where Oldak is today and what happened then.
Did Resnik and Oldak have children?
She was a freshman and he was a senior. They were married in 1970 and their divorce was finalized in 1976, but they remained friends, UPI reported. They never had children.
Who died in the Challenger?
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Ellison Onizuka and Michael Smith both were military officers. They trained together for two years to be astronauts. And they died together when the space shuttle Challenger blew up above the Florida coast.
What would a single settlement cover?
A single settlement covering military, civilian federal and non-government crew members would ease the government’s legal problem of having direct liability for some and indirect liability for others , this source said.
How much did Thiokol settle for?
Ulimately, Thiokol settled alone with the Resniks; the astronaut’s father said it came to $2 million to $3.5 million.
Why did the government not want to be dragged into court by Thiokol?
The government did not want to be dragged into court by Thiokol for a replay of the errors by government officials who spurned the protests of company engineers that it was too cold to launch Challenger.
Where did Oldak go after rejecting two government-company offers?
After rejecting two government-company offers, Oldak went to Thiokol.
Who would make up the difference between this figure and the government-company offer that Oldak had rejected?
Thiokol would even make up the difference between this figure and the government-company offer that Oldak had rejected.
Can military survivors sue the government?
But last year, the Supreme Court expanded its 35-year-old doctrine that military survivors may not sue the government. It extended the government’s immunity to a case like the Challenger disaster, where a military pilot was killed while supervised by federal civilian employees.
Who paid for the Challenger boosters?
Sixty percent of those costs was paid by Morton Thiokol, maker of the faulty boosters that triggered the Challenger disaster after launch from Kennedy Space Center, documents show. NASA since has helped indemnify defense contractors in such lawsuits. The wife of Challenger pilot Michael Smith sued NASA in 1987.
Who sued NASA for the Challenger pilot's wife?
The wife of Challenger pilot Michael Smith sued NASA in 1987. But a federal judge in Orlando threw out the case, ruling that Smith, a Navy officer, died in the line of duty. She later settled directly with Morton Thiokol, as did the other families.
What did Pastorek say about the disaster?
In the letter, Pastorek called the disaster a "tragic loss" and said his office had performed a "privileged and confidential" review of "potential legal exposure" for NASA and its contractors. It said NASA had advised family members to retain lawyers and that early discussions had been "positive and constructive.".
How much did NASA pay Columbia families?
NASA PAID $26.6M TO COLUMBIA FAMILIES. NASA paid $26.6 million to the families of seven astronauts who died aboard space shuttle Columbia -- a settlement that has been kept secret for more than 2 1/2 years. The space agency recruited former FBI Director William Webster, also a former federal judge, to act as a mediator and adviser in negotiating ...
Why were astronauts barred from suing the government?
Five of the seven astronauts on Columbia were military officers and barred from suing the government because they were on active duty while on loan to NASA, making contractors likely targets for lawsuits.
Where did the money for the NASA settlement come from?
He said the money came from the agency's budget via a 2004 congressional appropriation.
Did Lani McCool sue NASA?
As a military widow, Lani McCool said she and her three sons expected no additional government money other than insurance. She said she was not interested in suing NASA and was grateful for its handling of the settlements.
