Editing Space Shuttle Challenger (section)

=== Lawsuits ===

In March 1988 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. Morton Thiokol, the company that manufactured the faulty solid rocket booster that caused the accident, paid 60 percent, $4,641,000. The remainder, $3,094,000, was paid by the government.<ref>{{cite news|title=Challenger Settlements Disclosed : U.S. and Rocket Maker Paid $7.7 Million to 4 Families |date=March 8, 1988 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-08-mn-614-story.html |publisher=LA Times |access-date=May 10, 2025}}</ref>

In September 1988 a federal judge dismissed two lawsuits seeking $3 billion from Space Shuttle rocket-maker Morton Thiokol Inc. by [[Roger Boisjoly]], a former company engineer who warned against the ill-fated 1986 ''Challenger'' launch.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1988/09/03/judge-dismisses-lawsuits-against-maker-of-shuttle-rocket-by-former-employee/c5b0a4c4-80a6-428e-9980-10376e9e0daf/| title = JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUITS AGAINST MAKER OF SHUTTLE ROCKET BY FORMER EMPLOYEE - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>