Who Insured The Apollo Astronauts?
Riding a rocket, entering space, flying to the moon, landing and returning is incredibly risky and dangerous. And it was even more so in 1969.
So who provided life insurance for them? Nobody. They were literally uninsurable. This was unacceptable to the astronauts, as many of them had families they would need to be taken care of in the event of their death. So they had to insure themselves. One ingenious way they did this, was to hold an auction.
They each signed postcards or ‘insurance covers’ that were signed by every astronaut involved, as close to launch as possible.
Their value would sky-rocket should the worst happen and the deceased’s family would be safe in that they could cash in their unique insurance policy if needed.
Bonus: Click here to read the speech that Nixon would have given if the Apollo Astronauts were stranded.
