NASA paid 26.6 million U.S. dollars to the families of seven astronauts who died aboard the space shuttle Columbia in a secret settlement, which was covered for more than two years, according to media reports Monday.The space agency recruited former FBI Director William Webster, also a former federal judge, to act as a mediator and adviser in negotiating the out-of-court settlements, said documents released to the Orlando Sentinel through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.
"The members of the (survivors') families wanted this to be a private matter," said Webster. "They were healing, and they were ready to discuss, properly, their rights. Everyone felt it had a better chance of coming together without seeing their name in lights," he added.
Source: news.xinhuanet.com
Tags: Beijing | Columbia | Orlando | Technology | astronauts | died | Shuttle | William Webster
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