Goldin, Daniel Saul, 1940-

Daniel Saul Goldin was born July 23, 1940, in New York, New York. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the City College of New York in 1962. He began his career at NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1962, and worked on electric propulsion systems for human interplanetary travel. He later joined TRW and became Vice President and General Manager of the TRW Space and Technology Group in Redondo Beach, California. During a 25-year career at TRW, he led projects for America's defense and conceptualized and managed production of advanced communication spacecraft, space technologies and scientific instruments. Goldin served as administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from April 1, 1992 to November 17, 2001. During his tenure he initiated a revolution to transform America's aeronautics and space program. Despite lower budgets, his "faster, better, cheaper" approach enabled NASA to deliver programs of high value to the American public without sacrificing safety. Through his aggressive management reforms, annual budgets were reduced, producing a $40 billion reduction from prior budget plans. He implemented a more balanced aeronautics and space program by reducing human space flight funding from 48 percent of NASA's total budget to 38 percent and increasing funding for science and aerospace technology from 31 to 43 percent. During his tenure, NASA's civil service workforce was reduced by about a third, while the Headquarters' civil service and contractor workforce was reduced by more than half. These reductions were accomplished without resorting to forced layoffs. At the same time, NASA's productivity gains climbed 40 percent. Finally, he also cut the time required to develop Earth- and space-science spacecraft by 40 percent and reduced the cost by two-thirds, while increasing the average number of missions launched per year about four times. During the same time, Space Shuttle costs were reduced by about a third, while all safety indicators and mission capabilities achieved significant improvements. He was also a proponent for increased exploration of Mars, supported Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions, and played a pivotal role in redesigning the International Space Station.