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U.S. NASA Chief Announces Resignation
Daniel Goldin, who pushed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) of the U.S. to be leaner and faster and then came under fire for it, said Wednesday he will resign from the space agency next month after nearly 10 years in the top job.
The longest-serving administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will leave in mid-November with a record of 160 successful space missions, 11 failures - including back-to-back Mars flops - and an international space station that is now permanently occupied.
His tenure was sometimes tumultuous, with some in his own agency attacking his ``faster, better, cheaper'' philosophy of building and flying spacecraft. Critics said his approach endangered the space shuttle and other programs. And Goldin acknowledged the space agency experienced a brain drain in recent years.
Goldin sent a letter of resignation to President Bush on Wednesday morning, then announced the news to NASA employees in a speech that was televised at the nation's space centers. Many were surprised at the timing, although not by the departure itself, which had been rumored ever since Bush took office.
Goldin, 61, who left the aerospace industry in spring 1992 to head NASA, said he wants to spend more time with his wife, daughters and grandchildren and, eventually, move from Washington back to Southern California. He promised to work with the Bush Administration to find a temporary successor, who would serve as acting administrator until a replacement is named.
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