Conference 7.286::space

795.0. "Daniel Goldin (NASA Administrator) remarks at the AIAA convention" by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN (Dave Griffin) Tue Apr 28 1992 18:27

                    REMARKS BY DANIEL GOLDIN
                      NASA ADMINISTRATOR
                           BEFORE THE
                AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR AERONAUTICS
                        AND ASTRONAUTICS

                     TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1992


     Thank you.  It is both an honor and a great opportunity for me,
having been NASA Administrator for less than a month, to speak to a
major portion of the aerospace community at once.  As a college
student who took up John F. Kennedy's challenge to commit my career
to space, I never dreamt I'd be standing before you as the leader of
such a magnificent and magical organization with over twenty thousand
extremely dedicated and talented workers.  To name just the latest
example --- the COBE researchers whose work came close to unraveling
the secrets of the very creation of the entire universe.

     Today you must be wondering what's the new guy going to do with
NASA. What's going to change?  Well, to find out where we're going,
we need to recognize how far we've come.  In 66 years, we went from
the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk to the dusty plain of Tranquility Base.
But to see better where we're going in 1992, I prefer to look back to
1492 - - and to the 500-year voyage of discovery that Columbus handed
down to us to complete.

     When I was born in 1940, there were about two billion people on
earth.  Today, that's more than doubled.  And when I'm retired and
Willard Scott wishes me a happy birthday, there'll be almost 10
billion.  During my half-century of life people have consumed more of
the world's resources than during all prior generations in human
history.  We've already used up more than we deserve, and now we're
stealing from the future.  What will earth have left in 50 or 150
years?  The 1/4 of one percent of GNP we invest in NASA has to be
considered the most important insurance policy this planet has.
That's why I came to NASA, for it's the one organization in American
society whose whole purpose is to make sure our future will be better
than our past.

     And NASA has international responsibilities as well.  We have
accomplished much with our international partners.  Astronauts from
Canada, Mexico, our European Space Agency partners, Germany, Belgium,
France, Saudi Arabia, and soon Japan, have flown with us.  And we
plan on exchanging astronauts with Russia. The Earth Observing System
and our robotic programs are now global in scope and data will be
shared world-wide.  And our work on Space Station Freedom with
Europe, Canada, and Japan will open up a whole new world of
cooperation.  We can do more together with a shared vision than is
possible acting alone.  I soon intend to reach out to visit our
partners in this great adventure and start a dialogue on how we can
explore the Earth, solar system, and the universe together.

      When we plan what NASA will do year-to-year, we need to
consider where we want to be, not next year, but in fifty years, 100
years -- yes, even 500 years.  I don't know about you, but in 500
years, I want one of my successors to be able to turn over the keys
of a spacecraft to a Captain Kirk or Picard to go find out if
anything is orbiting Alpha Centauri.

     To those who say Apollo was a one-shot deal, never to be
repeated, that we've got problems to solve here on Earth, I say:
Right now we risk making the same mistake as the Chinese emperors
over 500 years ago.  Some of you might know this story.  Consumed by
other priorities at home, they banned further exploration of Africa,
made leaving the country a capital offense, and burned their fleet to
ensure such "wasteful" exploring would never happen again.  Instead
of spreading its culture and influence, China turned inward, leaving
the exploration of Africa and the Americas to Columbus and other
Europeans. All this is my way of saying: we cannot pretend the
decisions we make today don't have historic consequences for the
future.

     July 20, 1989 was a historic day.  For on that 20th anniversary
of humanity's greatest accomplishment, President Bush said, "The
Apollo astronauts left more than footprints on the moon; they left
some unfinished business.  America's ultimate goal was not to go
there and go back, but to go there and go on." For the first time in
decades, we are fortunate to have a President and Vice President who
personally support a vigorous space program.  We must seize that
opportunity.  Carpe diem.

     To many Americans, NASA conjures up images of our Wonder Years
-- the 1960s race to the moon.  Remember that day the Earth stood
still as we all watched the Eagle land?  Remember the shiver you got
when you looked up at the moon and realized that for the first time
ever someone was looking back?  Tell someone you worked for NASA back
then and they looked at you like you were JFK, Mickey Mantle, and
Walt Disney all rolled into one.  We have to restore that magical
luster -- restore the pride of accomplishment that comes from working
here -- and make the name NASA the definition of the term "best in
the world."

     Many of you have been the keepers of that flame.  I want to make
sure that your lights aren't kept under a bushel.  My first job as
Administrator is to listen, because you have a lot to share.  We need
to examine ourselves individually and collectively to see what can be
improved, what we should start doing, and what we should stop doing.
We can't keep letting millions turn into billions, and years slip
into decades, and not deliver what our country expects, and deserves,
from its space program.

     General Patton once said: "Never tell people how to do things.
Tell them what you want to achieve, and they will surprise you with
their ingenuity." That will be my philosophy as Administrator.

     For NASA to become a more mission-driven organization, we need
an agency filled with leaders -- people who are empowered to act,
have the resources they need, and are accountable for what they do.
NASA has been entrusted with several important missions: space
exploration, scientific study of the solar system and universe,
monitoring Planet Earth, and cutting-edge aeronautics.  To fulfill
those missions, every employee, every contractor, every program,
every dollar spent, must relate to those missions, and mesh together
in pursuit of them.  Everything in the space program, must be driven
not by bureaucracy, or rules that don't make sense, or by narrowly
focused programs, but by the integration of those missions.

     The New NASA will work to build a consensus -- to create a
shared vision of how our daily work relates to our missions.  We are
devising an integrated plan of programs, schedules, and budgets --
not just for the next few years, but 10, 20, 30 years into the future
-- so that our programs are no longer viewed in isolation, but
support one another.  Then we will work with all the space
stakeholders, both here and abroad, so that they become full partners
-- part of the team -- sharing our vision and strategy.  We need to
find ways to do things safer, faster, better, cheaper, and to make
continuous improvement a part of everything we do.  Because if you
can't measure it, you can't manage it.  We will set clear milestones.
Only through increasing accountability, and holding ourselves and our
contractors to the highest standards, can we hope to achieve our
sacred missions.

     In a little church in Sussex, England, there's a 250-year old
inscription that says, "A vision without a task is but a dream, a
task without a vision is drudgery, a vision with a task is the hope
of the world."

     If we do this right, if we have the courage to transform
ourselves, to dig deep down and bring out our best, then NASA can
face the outside world with a space program worthy of the American
people.  They will see a NASA transformed -- a NASA that embodies
what we know as the American character: clear-eyed pragmatism, tugged
toward a dream big enough to fill a continent.

     The American people have made a big investment in NASA and they
expect, and deserve, a big return.  Newsweek called Apollo: "the best
return on investment since Leonardo da Vinci bought himself a sketch
pad." By showing the American people we have the tools and the talent
-- and the right attitude - - they'll give us all the support we
need.  You know how I know that?  Because they've spent almost two
billion dollars just to watch movies about space.  Star Wars, Star
Trek, E.T., 2001 -- they love this stuff.  They flock to the Air &
Space Museum -- 8 million a year.  They talk to me on the street, in
restaurants, cabs and airplanes.  I see the sparkle in their eyes
when we talk about space.  And they look to us to make their dreams
come true.

     NASA is the leading force in U.S. civil space policy.  To live
up to that, we must concentrate on steering the space effort, and not
get bogged down by the rowing.  Imagine a rowing team with no
coxswain.  Not only does it look messy when the oars don't row
together, the boat can end up going in circles.  We must do more
steering, but for the rowing we do, all of us must pull together in
synchronization.

     Every core mission of NASA is important.  None is unimportant.
Some think knocking a colleague's program means more money for
themselves.  That attitude is not only wrong, it's poisonous.  If
anyone thinks killing the Space Station is the way to get more money
for other NASA endeavors, I believe you're wrong.  Take away the
American people's dream of being space pioneers, and NASA will end up
as just another large bureaucracy.  NASA has no fixed claim on the
federal budget, and no part of NASA has a fixed claim on its share of
the agency budget.  If Congress cancels one of our programs, that
money will almost certainly go to many other programs outside of
NASA.

     In the New NASA we'll welcome a diversity of views and ideas --
from both inside and outside the organization.  Democracy reigns; and
there will be no retribution for anyone expressing their opinion.
But employees and contractors should consider that when they run down
someone else's program, a little part of NASA dies, and the whole
agency suffers.  Lincoln said it best: "A house divided against
itself cannot stand." If we in the NASA team cannot unite behind a
shared vision, we cannot expect anyone else to unite behind us.

     Tomorrow the House will vote on the future of the Space Station
Freedom -- and I consider that vote a crucial test of this nation's
commitment to any space program at all.  Some say it's too small.
Some say it's too big.  Some even say we could do all the same
research here on Earth. There are those who will always want to argue
this issue.  And to them I say: we put humans on the moon in less
time than we've spent debating a space station!

     The primary purpose of Space Station Freedom is to be the
premier outpost in humankind's effort to learn how to live and work
in space.  The time our astronauts have spent in space is but the
blink of an eye -- a tiny fraction -- of what we'll need to know to
start a permanent presence off good old terra firma.  How will the
body take the stress of zero G?  Prolonged hazardous radiation?  Long
stretches of isolation in cramped quarters?  How do we assemble
hardware?  Dock and rendezvous?  And what about how dexterity will be
affected after long periods of zero or partial G?  Will astronauts
have the strength and agility to respond in life- threatening
situations when a rescue is required?  All this must be learned
before we can ever go back to the moon and go on to Mars. And the
only place to learn is a space station.

     But there is a second purpose to the space station.  For while
we may talk a lot about hardware, there's a soft spot in our hearts.
NASA cares.  What we must learn to sustain life in space will enhance
and preserve the lives of people on Earth. The miniaturized devices
we'll need to invent to get remote medical telemetry from our
astronauts could save lives on Earth. Imagine potential heart attack
or seizure victims having a tiny sensor a distant central computer
could monitor for dangerous symptoms.  The robotics we develop could
help the handicapped lead more fulfilling lives, just as NASA has in
the past.  And the lab facilities in Space Station Freedom should be
thought of as a NASA research center in orbit.

     Technology transfer will become a way of life at the new NASA.
Whether it's medical knowledge, or industrial products conceived in
microgravity, the space station will be like the old western trading
post -- serving the pioneers, but also sending valuable and exotic
goods back to civilization.

     When you think about it, after only 30 years of human and
robotic missions, we have a myriad of unanswered questions about our
Earth and our solar system.  We don't even know what we don't know.
What's out there waiting to be found?  I'm not arrogant enough to
tell you I know.  But I remember Columbus went looking for gold and
spices, and what he brought back was something totally unexpected:
corn and potatoes.  More valuable than gold, you ask?  Yes, because
those foods fueled a population explosion in Europe -- many of whom
are the ancestors of us Americans.

     Why explore?  Why bother?  Because we have to.  It's in our
nature.  And it is America's destiny.  If you remember only one thing
I've said here today, remember this: A child-like imagination is the
most powerful force of discovery.  When we get that back, there'll be
no holding us back.

     Two years ago, little Voyager 2 -- one of the most priceless
hunks of metal ever assembled by NASA -- flew by Neptune and headed
out of our solar system carrying a copper disk -- a cosmic message-
in-a-bottle from Planet Earth. From the very heart of all humanity,
it carries this message: "We step out of our solar system into the
universe seeking only peace and friendship -- to teach if we are
called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate.  We know full well
that [we] are but a small part of the immense universe -- and it is
with humility and hope that we take this step."

     Ladies and gentlemen, that step was part of an unstoppable
march, begun 500 years ago and stretching 500 years hence.  The
Magellans and Vespuccis of the Space Age of Exploration are seated
here today.  The Lewis and Clarks will come after us, until that
inevitable day when we venture out to the stars.

     Will we do it, or will it remain just a fantasy?  It's really up
to us.  Join me on this most noble of endeavors.

Article: 29603
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary
From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Goldin Speaks at JPL
Sender: [email protected] (Usenet)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 23:40:46 GMT
 
From the "JPL Universe"
December 4, 1992
 
`Take creative risks,' Goldin tells von Karman audience
By Karre Marino
 
     In a quick stop-over at JPL Nov. 25, NASA Administrator Daniel
Goldin told an overflow crowd of JPL personnel in von Karman
Auditorium of his concerns about the future of NASA missions,
precipitated in part by the looming possibility of budget cuts as a
new administration takes power. 

     But he challenged his audience to be bold: "Use new technology,
take creative risks. Let's work on advanced concepts and look to the
future: whether that means composite structures, (very lightweight)
cameras or other nations' space programs. But we have to put
technology money where it has its biggest impact. We need to do better
in terms of commercializing space. We've done better with privatization." 

     Goldin said that analysis of the budget for NASA's Office of
Space Science & Applications since 1987 "is cause for alarm" -- that
NASA may be on the wrong path. 

     "We're spending more and more money on operations and less on
cutting-edge technology to plant the seeds for the next generation,"
he said. The number of scientific spacecraft on the books is too few,
and "we're using old technology to survive." 

     Goldin said he is concerned that at the university level,
professors and students do not have the dollars to fund their
research. In fact, the question of federal monies was raised often
throughout Goldin's speech: "As we compete for increasingly fewer
dollars -- dollars we share with the National Institutes of Health,
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, paying off the
national debt -- NASA sees a smaller share of the federal pot. Some of
those funds are being diverted from NASA. 

     "Maybe we have to do a better job informing the public why we're
vital, why our budget shouldn't be trimmed. We also have to tell
Congress the whole truth." If a budget is set for $1.4 billion, he
said, "we shouldn't come back and ask for another $70 million to cover
software costs. Let's be up front and tell them exactly how much we need." 

     The administrator also noted that President-elect Bill Clinton
expects a windfall from government-funded technology, which must one
day be used in the private sector to create more jobs. "We should be a
test bed of technology, bringing in people from a variety of
industries," he said. 

     Goldin also discussed the possibility of working more closely
with other nations, and other space programs. For example, "The
Russians want to work with us." Their military program may be under
the knife, he noted, "but they won't give up on their space program.
This is a great opportunity to reach out on an international basis and
have scientists (from different countries) work together. We could
build more payloads here and fly them internationally, or fly payloads
of other countries on our spacecraft." 

     While NASA certainly has concerns about the future, the talk was
not all gloom and doom. Goldin cited a number of programs that offer
great hope: Mission to Planet Earth, Discovery, Space Station Freedom.
And throughout his address, he frequently challenged JPL staffers to
be creative, to submit their ideas to management, to ensure that NASA
engenders a successful marriage of science and technology. "NASA and
JPL can have great impact in lifting the spirits of the nation and the
economy if we take risks and use cutting-edge technology. We can't be
afraid to fail." 

     And while JPL is meeting Goldin's challenges, the administrator
will be busy making changes at the top: he plans to cut out the layers
of red tape. "The paperwork has become a burden to scientists. We're
going to fix that," he said. "We want to spend our money and energy on
technology." 

     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | The 3 things that children 
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | find the most fascinating:
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | space, dinosaurs and ghosts.
 

Article: 1230
From: [email protected] (DAVE MCKISSOCK)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Comments from Goldin
Date: 21 Mar 1994 10:44 EST
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
 
Published in the Winter 1994 edition of NASA Magazine, in the
column "From the Administrator" ...
 
We at NASA are rewriting the pages of our future.  Change has
been making itself felt around the agency for some months now. We
are moving the culture of this proud agency toward a triad of
values, based on relevance, responsibility and teamwork.
 
I believe NASA is well postured to continue operating at the
cutting edge of science and technology. We can continue to make
fundamental contributions to the store of human knowledge. We are
all very proud of the NASA team effort that effected the
successful Hubble repair mission during STS-61 in December.
 
We have faced up to a difficult financial outlook, in uncertain
times, and we have made hard decisions in the interests of that
future. We have cut bureaucracy, we have trimmed low value-added
work from our agenda, we have reduced the costs of operations. We
have achieved substantial savings through this effort, and I am
proud of the NASA team for how responsive you have been and for
how hard you have worked.
 
I think we have a better program as a result of this exercise. 
We are a leaner but stronger agency. We have shown that we can
accept tough challenges and meet them. We have done it with our
budget. We have done it with the reordering of priorities within
that budget. And we have done it with the space station, the
Space Shuttle and our other science and technology programs.
 
Consider some of the achievements we have produced over the last
18 months.
 
The Space Shuttle continues to fly, and fly safely, at a reduced
cost to the nation. Overall, between 1991 and 1998, we will have
cut the cost of flying the Space Shuttle by 43%. We are looking
for further efficiencies, for better and cheaper ways of doing
business. But safety remains our number one priority.
 
Under the leadership of President Clinton, we are now ready to
move into the new space station era. With the President's
guidance and support, we have dramatically reshaped the space
station program. Last year we successfully accomplished a major
redesign. Over the period from Fiscal 1994 to 1998, we reduced
funding requirements by $6 billion.
 
We have reached out to other nations and reacted to the historic
trends of our time. We have reached out to Russia and are working
to forge a new and dramatic partnership in space. From
cooperative flights onboard Shuttle and the Mir space station to
a joint program to develop the international space station
facility, we are on the verge of a new and exciting era in the
history of the Space Age. Just last December in Moscow, NASA and
the Russians signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in
eight areas in fundamental aeronautical sciences.
 
We have made great strides toward bringing NASA's programs into
balance. There is a balance between big science and small
science. There is a better balance between human and robotic
spaceflight. There is a better balance between operations and
technology. There is more money for aeronautics. There is an
increased emphasis on the Mission to Planet Earth and bringing
new technology into the American workplace.
 
We have made substantial changes at NASA, but there is more work
ahead. We must continue to strive for an important set of goals
and missions. Our priorities must continue to provide relevant
returns to the American people. I believe we have a bright and
wonderful future in the continued exploration of air and space.
We continue to excite, to inspire, to lead the way to new
developments and new adventures. Working together, we will push
on to the next horizon.
 
Daniel S. Goldin