DANIEL GOLDIN became the ninth NASA Administrator in April 1992 and quickly earned a reputation as an agent of much-needed change in the space agency. His first initiative was budgetary reform in which long-term programmes, such as the Space Station, received long-term commitment, while at the same time he reduced the budget by $15 billion over a five-year period. "It was simply not feasible for us to continue spending at the rate we were going," he says.
His first budget proposal in 1993 was "a declaration of independence from the old ways of doing business". He claims that he has created a "faster, better, cheaper" way of conducting programmes without compromising safety or science. A research scientist, Goldin joined NASA after a 25-year career with TRW, in which he had reached the post of vice-president and general manager of the company's Space and Technology Group. Born in New York, he still speaks with the characteristic local brogue and with a breathless enthusiasm and honesty which was lacking in previous NASA leaders.
Source: Flight International