Astronaut’s Kin Settles With Maker of Rocket in Space Shuttle Death

The father of Challenger astronaut Judith Resnik said Wednesday that the family has reached a settlement with the manufacturer of the shuttle’s booster rocket rather than relive the Challenger tragedy during a trial.

“I’m very angry at the way they (Morton Thiokol Inc.) treated us and the other families,” Dr. Marvin Resnik said from his Encinitas home. “But I’m not angry enough to put the family through the agony of a long trial.”

Resnik, 68, a retired optometrist, declined to reveal the amount of the settlement but said it is “in the ballpark” of the $2 million to $3.5 million reportedly received by families of other Challenger astronauts.

Part of the money will be used for the Challenger Center for Space Science in Houston and for educational and scholarship funds established in Judith Resnik’s name in Akron, Ohio; at Carnegie-Mellon University; at Ohio State University, and at the University of Maryland.

Money for Other Family Members

Money will also be set aside for the son and daughter of Judith Resnik’s brother, Dr. Charles Resnik of Baltimore. Judith Resnik, who was divorced, had no children.

The families of six of the seven crew members killed when the Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff Jan. 28, 1986, have now reached settlements with Morton Thiokol. The widow of pilot Michael Smith, a Navy commander, has filed a $1.5-billion federal lawsuit.

The families of the Challenger crew have banded together to create the Challenger Center at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston to offer children the type of lessons that astronaut Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, N.H., had planned to present from space.

The center is being funded, in part, from grants from aerospace companies such as Rockwell International and Martin Marietta, and from public donations.

Last summer, Marvin Resnik and his wife, Betty, and the family of Challenger astronaut Gregory Jarvis were part of a NASA booth at the Del Mar Fair to raise money for the center.

Marvin Resnik said the family had negotiated with Morton Thiokol for more than a year before reaching tentative agreement a month ago. He said final details were agreed on this week.

The company made a separate settlement with Judith Resnik’s mother, Betty Resnik Belfer, who lives in Cleveland.

Executives at Morton Thiokol’s corporate headquarters in Chicago and rocket-testing plant in Brigham City, Utah, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The company has routinely refused to comment on the settlements to the survivors of Challenger crew members. Challenger was destroyed when a solid-fuel booster built by Morton Thiokol ruptured.

Judith Arlene Resnik was a classical pianist and research scientist with a doctorate in electrical engineering.

Akron-Born, Raised

Born and raised in Akron, she became an astronaut in 1978 and during her first space flight in 1984 she operated the shuttle’s arm to delicately break away ice that had formed on the space shuttle Discovery. She was 36 when she died.

The exact amount of the settlements may never be known. The families have pledged not to reveal the amounts either to the media or to each other. The federal government has also encouraged secrecy.

What is known is that any settlement of more than $750,000 resulting from an aerospace incident must be approved by the U.S. Justice Department. Settlements to the Resnik family and the other families have received such approval.

The estimate of $2 million to $3.5 million was contained in a story in the New York Times.

“I doubt the real figures will ever be known,” said Houston attorney Ronald Krist, who represented Judith Resnik’s mother and family members of three other crew members. “There is no purpose to be served in releasing the figures.”

Acted as Intermediaries

Lawyers for the Justice Department, representing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, acted as intermediaries between Morton Thiokol and the families.

In December, 1986, when settlements were announced for the families of McAuliffe, Jarvis, Air Force Lt. Col. Ellison S. Onizuka and mission commander Francis Scobee, a Justice Department spokesman said that the settlements do not imply any admission of liability or negligence on behalf of Morton Thiokol.

The firm reportedly carries insurance for $500 million in judgments for the failure of its rockets.

Marvin Resnik said the families were initially shocked at the hard line taken by Morton Thiokol and the Justice Department. The Resnik family had not yet filed suit.

“They wanted us to prove in court that there was pain and suffering before the crew died,” Resnik said. “Can you imagine that? We’ve all been trying to put this behind us but it’s been impossible. We’re reminded of the pain every time we talk to the lawyers.”

Marvin Resnik and his wife moved to Encinitas last year. A daughter, Sandy Vilseck, lives in Carlsbad.

“When Judy died, we decided to retire early and move out here to the sunshine,” Resnik said. “Judy’s death proved that life can be very brief.”