View source for Daniel Goldin

{{short description|American engineer and former head of NASA (born 1940)}}
{{for|the American journalist|Daniel Golden}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name        = Daniel Goldin
|image       = Daniel Goldin, official NASA photo.jpg
|order       = 9th
|office      = Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
|president   = [[George H. W. Bush]]<br> [[Bill Clinton]]<br>[[George W. Bush]]
|predecessor = [[Richard H. Truly]]
|successor   = [[Sean O'Keefe]]
|term_start  = April 1, 1992
|term_end    = November 17, 2001
|birth_name  = Daniel Saul Goldin
|birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1940|7|23}}
|birth_place = [[New York City]]
|death_date  =
|death_place =
|nationality = American
|spouse      = Judy Goldin (m. 1962)
|children    = 2
|relations   =
|alma_mater  = [[City College of New York]], B.S. 1962
|occupation  = Founder of Cold Canyon AI
|other_names =
|known_for   = Longest-tenured Administrator of NASA
}}

'''Daniel Saul Goldin''' (born July 23, 1940) served as the 9th and longest-tenured Administrator of [[NASA]] from April 1, 1992, to November 17, 2001. He was appointed by President [[George H. W. Bush]] and also served under Presidents [[Bill Clinton]] and [[George W. Bush]]. He is an entrepreneur and technologist. Most recently he is the founder of Cold Canyon AI, an innovation advisory company. His career has spanned numerous technologies and businesses in space science, aeronautics, national security, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.

==Early life==
Born in [[New York City]], Goldin earned a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[mechanical engineering]] from the [[City College of New York]] in 1962.

==Career==
He began his career at NASA's [[Glenn Research Center]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]] that year (1962), and worked on [[Electric propulsion|electric propulsion systems]] for human [[interplanetary travel]]. Goldin left NASA after five years to work at the [[TRW Inc.|TRW Space and Technology Group]] in [[Redondo Beach, California]]. Goldin spent 25 years at TRW, climbing to the position of Vice President and General Manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/30-years-ago-daniel-goldin-sworn-in-as-nasa-s-ninth-administrator|title=30 Years Ago: Daniel Goldin Sworn in as NASA's Ninth Administrator|date=April 1, 2022|first=Kelli|last=Mars}}</ref> There, he spent much of his time on classified military and intelligence space programs.<ref name=lambright>{{cite book |last1=Lambright |first1=W. Henry |title=Why Mars: NASA and the Politics of Space Exploration |date=2014 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-1-4214-1279-5 |page=112 |edition=1}}</ref> 

He was NASA Administrator from 1992 to 2001, and was known for his support for a "Faster, better, cheaper" philosophy.<ref name=N-JWST-ate>[https://www.nature.com/articles/4671028a ''Space science: The telescope that ate astronomy'' Nature Billings 2010]</ref> He was known as a demanding but efficient manager.<ref name="lambright" />

Upon joining NASA, Goldin reflected on the failed [[Mars Observer]] project and described his dissatisfaction with the agency's workflow: "so much is riding on each flight that NASA can't afford to have them fail — leading to more caution, delay, and expense."<ref name="lambright" /> He said to make spacecraft smaller, lighter, and inexpensive, so that NASA could take more risks and not fear making mistakes.<ref name="lambright" /> He encouraged the team defining what would become the [[James Webb Space Telescope]] to use a larger beryllium mirror.<ref name=N-JWST-ate/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/dan_goldin.html NASA biography of Daniel Saul Goldin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208234004/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/dan_goldin.html |date=2016-12-08 }}
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723151633/http://www.space.com/news/goldin_nasa_991214.html |date=July 23, 2008 |title=''Goldin Stands by 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' Credo'' - by Alex Canizares}}
*{{C-SPAN|22421}}

{{Include-NASA}}

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{{s-gov}}
{{succession box|title=[[NASA Administrator]]|before=[[Richard H. Truly]]|after=[[Daniel Mulville]]|years=1992–2001}}
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{{NASAadmin}}
{{John Fritz Medal}}
{{Politics of outer space}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldin, Daniel Saul}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Administrators of NASA]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:People from the Bronx]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil)]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:George W. Bush administration personnel]]
[[Category:Clinton administration personnel]]
[[Category:George H. W. Bush administration personnel]]