spacetoday.net: Goldin to resign as NASA administrator

Updated: Wed, Oct 17, 2001, 11:17 PM ET (0317 GMT)
Originally Posted: Wed, Oct 17, 2001, 1:23 PM ET (1723 GMT)

NASA administrator Dan Goldin announced Wednesday that he will resign from the space agency next month. Goldin addressed the space agency's employees via TV Wednesday afternoon and told them that he will retire from the agency effective November 17, several hours after the first reports of his resignation were published by several sources. Goldin said that he has accepted a position as a senior fellow at the Council on Competitiveness. "Being appointed NASA Administrator was the fulfillment of a childhood dream," Goldin said in a statement. "This is the greatest job in the world and it is difficult to leave a job you love." No word on who will succeed Goldin as administrator; Goldin said he will work with the Bush Administration to identify an interim replacement. Goldin is the longest-serving administrator in NASA history, having been nominated for the post by President George H. W. Bush, father of the current president, in 1992. Goldin's future at NASA had been uncertain since President George W. Bush took office in January, but Goldin managed to remain in office to the surprise of many.