reminds me after the Space Shuttle Exploded after all the brewhaha, PBS followed a representative from NASA into Lloyds of London to collect on the insurance deal of the Shuttle. An interesting encounter indeed...

There is a pic out there of a satellite under construction in perhaps a NASA building fallen completely on its side. Somebody must have missed a step in some processes. Thats what happens when you rush and don't check, thats what happens on these dropped locomotives, and its also why the Shuttle exploded, some step missed or not checked over.

Dropped satellite;

http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/2590

A second shift crew "borrowed" the bolts that held this to a "turnover" fixture for another job and did not log it.

The next shift didn't check for the bolts and used the turnover fixture to well, turn the unit so so they could work on it. The procedure called out to check for the bolts and record it. They did, the day before....

Cheers, Kevin

NASA didn't have a direct policy through Lloyds, as the risk was spread over several companies (and wasn't through NASA directly, anyway). Lloyds isn't one company in the sense that many people think, either. There was only limited coverage for anyone or anything related to the STS-51L flight. Most of the coverage (including any liability for the loss of the TDRS-B satellite and the SPARTAN experiement package) covered past the launch phase, which was traditionally considered to be the most likely part in a mission where a loss would occur. There were lawsuits of course, but most of the money collected came out of government life insurance.
An independent Washington insurance broker took out a One Million Dollar policy for McAuliffe's life through Lloyd's of London due to her high profile, and her family collected on it soon after the disaster with no problems.
Misison Specialist Greg Jarvis was a Hughes Aircraft contractor working with NASA, and his claim was settled directly through his employer