NASA paid $26.6M to Columbia families

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — NASA paid $26.6 million to family members of the astronauts who died on the space shuttle Columbia in 2003, a newspaper reported Sunday, citing recently released documents.

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, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.

The U.S. space agency had never before disclosed the settlement to protect the privacy of the Columbia families, Beutel told The Associated Press on Sunday.