Complex sentence: In 1960, the parties settled the suit, and the U.S. armed forces and NASA paid out an award of $1 million (half went to his wife), at that time the highest government settlement ever paid in a patent case.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1960, the parties settled the suit, and the U.S. armed forces and NASA paid out an award of $1 million: half went to his wife. At that time, it was the highest government settlement ever paid in a patent case.