THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEVERLY SCHUCH, HOST (voice-over): Daniel S. Goldin is 1 percent adult and 99 percent little boy.
DANIEL GOLDIN, ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: I am so excited about this. All I do is design them, I never go in them.
SCHUCH: As the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, he indulges his childlike wonder in all things to do with speed and space and he's having the ride of his life. On this glorious summer day at the OshKosh Air Show under a hallelujah blue sky, Dan Goldin rode shotgun with the first man to fly faster than sound, Chuck Yeager (ph).
GOLDIN: That was so cool. I was telling Chuck, all my astronauts are going to be flying me on a T38 every day.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Three, two, one, booster ignition and lift off.
SCHUCH: Dan Goldin came to NASA in 1992 at the request of then President George Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's for all you've done. Congratulations.
GOLDIN: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUCH: At the time, the space program was in shambles. With the end of the cold war and Apollo missions to the moon, America had lost its purpose in space. And in 1986 it lost the Challenger. Dan's mandate, to fix the nation's broken space program.
(on camera): Why did you take the job?
GOLDIN: It's not every day you get asked by the president of the United States to take on a task. It was at the end of the Bush administration. I got the call in February of '92 and we had lost the Challenger. Hubble was myopic. The Galileo spacecraft was deaf. I knew what had to be done. I wrote down on a sheet of paper after I walked out of the White House from my interview what I thought needed to be done.
SCHUCH (voice-over): Goldin has won the confidence of two presidents, two distinct administrations. But if the White House has been good to Goldin, Congress hasn't always been so kind, relentlessly paring NASA's once bloated budget. But when Congress threatened to cut too deep, Goldin fought back -- no bucks, no Buck Rogers.
(on camera): Dan Goldin, I know you're frustrated because for six years you didn't say anything when each year they cut your budget. But this time they're threatening to cut it about 10 percent and you said there will be consequences to that.
GOLDIN: Without a doubt. They went too far and I had to tell them.
It would be disruptive and I felt it was essential to discuss it. The good news is the Congress listened. The House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, they looked at it, they looked at the facts and they restored the budget to the president's recommended budget.
SCHUCH: Is there a unified mission now? Do we have a sense of purpose about our space program again?
GOLDIN: Oh, yes. We are going to understand the evolution, origin and destiny of our universe. We're going to understand if life of any form, single cell or higher, carbon-based or not, is unique to planet Earth.
SCHUCH (voice-over): But Goldin's lifelong dreams remain tethered to a short rope. His pursuit has been defined by his strict directive -- faster, better, cheaper.
(on camera): Seven years later, how do you feel now?
GOLDIN: I am so proud, so proud. These people are the smartest people on the face of the earth. They work hard, they come in early, they go home late and they're on a mission. They know that they're crucial to opening up the frontier for America in the 21st century.
SCHUCH (voice-over): We'll follow Dan Goldin as he maneuvers an unwieldy government agency into the fast track and celebrates each success with an unusual and closely guarded tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: T minus nine minutes and counting.
SCHUCH: Dan Goldin, administrator of NASA, is next on PINNACLE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: (unintelligible).
GOLDIN: Oh, yeah. The one we made was about that big.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: About three foot and five inches tall. They had to put a D engine in it.
GOLDIN: That's what we used. We used the D engine.
SCHUCH (voice-over): Whether he's working on the space shuttle or a toy rocket, 59-year-old Dan Goldin has the same childlike enthusiasm.
GOLDIN: I made some of these with my grandson. Ours went up about 2,000 feet.
There was an empty lot behind my house. I used to fire off rockets and maybe the fire trucks came a few times to put out the fires. They didn't know that crazy Dan was building rockets. I had a very interesting childhood.
SCHUCH: What was your first dream of outer space?
GOLDIN: Seven years old, Hayden Planetarium, grew up in New York City. My father took me there and I had never seen the depths of the heavens. And that storm machine turned on and it turned me on and I knew when I was seven years old that somehow, some way I was going to be involved in the space program. This is before NASA.
SCHUCH: And did you want to be an astronaut when you saw those first men go up?
GOLDIN: You bet you. Unfortunately I had bad eyes. The first thing I did when I graduated college is I went to Stuart Air Force Base (ph) to try and enlist on officer candidate school so I could fly. Then I figured I'd become an experimental test pilot then an astronaut and they washed me out because my eyes were so bad. It frustrated me.
SCHUCH (voice-over): But it didn't defeat him. In 1962, he joined NASA's Lewis Research Center (ph) in Cleveland, Ohio, designing vehicles to one day send men to Mars. It was just a few weeks before John Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the earth.
GOLDIN: There I was in a laboratory. We didn't have CNN. You couldn't watch the launch. There was a little transistor radio upstairs in my lab. I kept running upstairs, listening, go down, tweedle the knobs on my experiments and finally I gave up and I listened to the whole flight. And I've told John Glenn this story. It was glorious.
SCHUCH: And when you first met John Glenn after this, what did you say to him?
GOLDIN: I was speechless. I mean I went up to his office and here is my hero. He's in the flesh. He's calling me Dan. SCHUCH (voice-over): It didn't take a rocket scientist to alert Dan that this wasn't a casual visit. This man, who embodied the spirit of the space program, who President Kennedy deemed too valuable to risk on a second mission, the now very senior senator from Ohio had a little request of Dan.
GOLDIN: He said, Dan, I want to go back to space. I about died.
SCHUCH (on camera): He was how old then?
GOLDIN: Seventy-six. So I said look, there are a number of issues. First, you're going to have to pass the most rigorous physical any human being has ever undertaken. You will have to establish that there's a scientific purpose to this mission. You will not be allowed to talk to the president of the United States. The first minute I hear you do that -- or the vice president and it gets political, I will guarantee you won't go back to space.
SCHUCH: Woah.
GOLDIN: And I thought he'd never make it through the first gate.
SCHUCH (voice-over): But fly Glenn did.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: One, booster ignition and liftoff of Discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one American legend.
SCHUCH: No one was happier when the mission went off without a hitch, except, of course, Glenn's wife, Annie.
GOLDIN: I went up to see Annie after the launch and I hugged her and she said Dan, this is his last flight.
I'm going to give each one of you a bookmark from John Glenn's flight last October and this is piece of the panel that they wound up in this flight that was actually in space.
SCHUCH (on camera): You don't go to Houston Control Center to watch the launches, do you?
GOLDIN: I send a message. I have such confidence in them, I go out to Banana Creek with all the visitors. Everything that can be done has been done and you know something? If you set mediocre goals and have success all the time, you do not learn.
SCHUCH: OK, let's talk about a couple failures here. The Mars climate...
GOLDIN: The Mars Climate Orbiter.
SCHUCH: What happened?
GOLDIN: The Mars Climate Orbiter was a fundamental failure in two regards. First, our system didn't work. NASA procured the services of the corporation that was helping us in European units -- meters, kilograms and seconds. SCHUCH (voice-over): But the mission team in the U.S. read the calculations as feet, pounds and seconds. The result? A lost orbiter.
(on camera): I've talked to people who know something about it and people who know nothing and they still say it's too stupid. You can't afford that kind of a mistake.
GOLDIN: Absolutely.
SCHUCH: How much did that cost?
GOLDIN: $125 million. The error that was made was not the worst part. The worst part was our navigation system was not tolerant to human error. When we went to faster, better, cheaper we said we're going to have failures. We've had 22 launches, 22 spacecraft and three failures. You can't have 100 percent success.
SCHUCH (voice-over): In January of this year, there was another failure in another attempt to visit Mars. NASA is rethinking its strategy, but not abandoning it.
(on camera): Are human beings going to Mars in our lifetime?
GOLDIN: Human beings will be setting foot on Mars in no less than 10 years and no more than 20.
SCHUCH (voice-over): When PINNACLE returns, we'll look at some of NASA's stunning successes and see how this man with his cowboy boots planted firmly on Earth is reaching for the stars.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: And we have liftoff of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHUCH (voice-over): As an agent of change, Dan Goldin has his critics, both inside NASA and outside. His tenure has been marked by a series of budget cuts which dramatically reduced the workforce to merely 20,000. This year's budget of $13.6 billion is projected to improve over the next five years.
(on camera): There are taxpayers, and you know this better than anyone, who will still tell you why are we spending a dime on space when there are so many ills here on earth? What do you say to them?
GOLDIN: The first thing I say to them, we don't spend a nickel in space. Every nickel gets spent on the ground.
SCHUCH: And then after they get over that you say what?
GOLDIN: What I say is the space program is too important to the future of America. Young people need to be able to dream and visualize. Being against the Evil Empire was what got me going in the morning and now the young people are saying are there planets around other stars? Is life unique? Can I be the first astronaut to set foot on Mars? Will I be in that submarine that goes under the ice of Europa and swims around?
SCHUCH: What do you think is the most significant accomplishment that we've enjoyed on earth here, people, consumers, because of our times in space -- and I want to say Velcro.
GOLDIN: The major, if I had to list the biggest impact space research has had, I would say it's in the earth science field. You could routinely get five day weather forecasts. It doesn't come from television. It comes from the satellites that NASA builds for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. We just launched the Chandra (ph) telescope. That telescope is going to open up the high energy horizon in our universe and allow us to rewrite chemistry, physics and biology textbooks.
But that's not the only field. Biomedical, intensive care monitoring in hospitals, right out of the NASA program, CAT scans, technology for pet scans. Because we sent people into space, we have to overcome unbelievable medical problems. That comes right back into the American economy. Transportation, there isn't a major plane that hasn't gone through a NASA wind tunnel or facility. And you know what? Within eight years, airplanes will have a crash rate one fifth that they are today because of NASA research.
SCHUCH: You're dealing in little boys' dreams here. You know that.
GOLDIN: I feel, I'm very childlike. Children are much more creative than adults because they don't know with certainty what can't be done and those that know with certainty what can't be done guarantee it won't happen. And they've run tests, controlled tests. The older we get, the less creative we become.
I try and be childlike.
SCHUCH (voice-over): The infinitely curious child in Dan grew up in the embattled Bronx borough of New York.
GOLDIN: Well, I grew up in a place that was featured in "Fort Apache, The Bronx," the movie. That's where I grew up. And even then...
SCHUCH (on camera): It was like that?
GOLDIN: Well, it was a rough neighborhood, but there were good people there.
SCHUCH: I think you said you grew up in an itty bitty house.
GOLDIN: A small house, yes. It was a small house. I don't know how small it was, but it was so small that I lived in a bunk bed in a bedroom with my Uncle Manny (ph) and we had my grandfather and grandfather, my bachelor uncle, my bachelor aunt and my parents and two sisters and it was pretty small. But we ate well. It was a wonderful time that I grew up in. My father was a dreamer and he'd share my dreams.
And he was able, he was a first generation American, he went to the White House and he watched his son getting sworn in by the president of the United States. And it was with President Bush and he was so overwhelmed he kept touching the president because he couldn't believe that this was happening. And I mean not just touch and pull, he held onto him. And President Bush just stood there and he understood.
So having that experience with my father, I'm sad he died but it wasn't a sad event.
SCHUCH: And your mom, what does she think of all this?
GOLDIN: Oh, she's a space cadet.
SCHUCH: She (UNINTELLIGIBLE) she sing.
GOLDIN: She's been down to Cape Kennedy with me. She clips all my articles and we talk about it all the time.
SCHUCH: And now that you're touching, reaching out and touching the heavens, as it were, how does religion fit into what you do?
GOLDIN: I find no conflict between my religious beliefs and science. And, in fact, and many times I think about what a wonderful time to be alive. We are now approaching the day when we're getting to the crossover between cosmology and theology. We're searching to see about the origin of life, is life unique to this planet?
SCHUCH (voice-over): When PINNACLE returns, the man with the singular wish to fly gets as close as he can to living his dream.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: T minus five minutes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHUCH (voice-over): January 31st, 2000, on the day of the first launch of the new millennium, Dan Goldin arrives at Cape Canaveral early. He has a lot of people to talk to.
GOLDIN: Good morning, everyone. Weather permitting, you're in for a real treat today.
SCHUCH: Goldin is giving a pre-launch talk to a room full of special visitors, representatives of participating countries and some sentimental favorites like this 100-year-old pilot.
GOLDIN: You don't fly anymore, do you? UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Yes.
GOLDIN: You still fly?
UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Yes.
GOLDIN: I used to have problems with astigmatism. I was very, very near-sighted. My eyeglasses looked like Coke bottles and about five years ago I had some major surgery on my eyes since I had some other problems and now I have bionic lenses. So now I can see almost perfect. So when I get done with this job I'm going to go and get my pilot's license.
SCHUCH: Dan makes one more stop, to talk to a little boy who must wear a NASA-designed suit to avoid any exposure to ultraviolet light.
GOLDIN: You know what, Jonathan?
JONATHAN: No.
GOLDIN: When we build the International Space Station we're going to develop even better fabrics and we're going to make life even more comfortable for you.
JONATHAN: This is already comfortable.
GOLDIN: I'd like you to meet a real live astronaut.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Hello, Jonathan.
JONATHAN: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: How are you? It's a pleasure to meet you?
SCHUCH: An hour into the launch window, the weather worsens. The next day, a second attempt is scuttled by a misbehaving computer.
GOLDIN: You have to learn to live with the reality of the space program. This is tough stuff. And, in fact, I have a comfort when the people who work for NASA say I'd rather slip the schedule than create a safety risk for the astronauts.
SCHUCH: Fast forward one week. All systems are go for STS99. Space Shuttle Endeavour is poised for an 11 day mission to map 80 percent of the earth's land surface. Dan Goldin has one last stop before launch, a visit with the astronauts' families.
(on camera): The pressures on your are, they have to be extraordinary. I mean you know that if there's another Challenger, that may be what you'll be remembered for. How do you cope with that kind of pressure?
GOLDIN: I am personally responsible for the lives of the astronauts. I understand it. I go to every launch. I meet with every astronaut's spouse before the launch. I talk to every astronaut before the launch and I'm there for the landing. They are our most important asset. And I know that the American people understand without a risk you don't get rewards.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: One minute.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: It's now T minus one minute and counting.
SCHUCH (voice-over): Now the tension is palpable. From the VIP gallery on Banana Creek, three miles from Pad 39A, Dan Goldin watches with his wife Judy, his good luck Bronx hat firmly in place.
GOLDIN: I only wear it down here at the launches and it's my tradition.
SCHUCH: It all comes down to this moment.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Twelve, 11, 10, nine, eight, seven -- we have a go from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to start. Four, three, two, one, booster ignition and liftoff for Space Shuttle Endeavor on a 21st century mission placing it back on the map.
GOLDIN: You'll see it light off but you won't hear a sound. And then as the sound travels across three miles of Banana Creek you'll feel the pressure wave hit you. You'll hear a crackling sound and you'll worry, but that's normal. Don't worry about that crackling sound. And then you'll see that old rocket take off and I've seen probably close to 50 of them. I cry every time.
SCHUCH: There are three million things that could go wrong, but they don't.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Endeavor, go and throttle up.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: And they were speeding out at 2,700 miles per hour. Eavesdropper confirms good separation of the solid rocket.
SCHUCH: Only now does the weight begin to lift from Dan's shoulders. With the astronauts safely in orbit and Houston in control of the mission, the launch team gathers outside the control center for a traditional meal of corn bread and beans. It's tradition that began quite by accident in the 1960s.
GOLDIN: You could eat this stuff somewheres else but it tastes sweeter after a launch.
SCHUCH (on camera): So what will you do after this?
GOLDIN: The space program is, it's almost a religious experience for me. I am at the top of the temple. As someone who's worked in the space program, I don't know that there's anything that I could do that could get my motor running like this job does. But you know what? I'd like to see a picture of a planet around a star and not our own sun and in that picture I'd like to see oceans, continents, mountain ranges and clouds and I'd like that picture to be in my grandson's room.
SCHUCH: You're talking about another life supporting planet on another solar system?
GOLDIN: You got that right. I don't know if it exists, but if it does exist, I want to see this country develop that technology in my lifetime and I want to see us take that picture.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Booster ignition and liftoff.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: One, we have ignition. We have liftoff.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Booster ignition and liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavor with the first American...
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: Going out of the four solid bucket boosters and jettisoned.
UNIDENTIFIED NASA EMPLOYEE: And we have separation on all four solids.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
|
