Michael Griffin
Michael Griffin
This prominent aerospace engineer and physicist served from 2005 until 2009 as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Previously, he had headed Johns Hopkins University's Space Department.
ProfessionEngineer
Date of Birth1 November 1949
partners russian shuttle station sustained
Our Russian partners have steadfastly sustained the station while the shuttle has been down.
begin bigger chase dogs expensive flight future hope kept lie means people porch program proud renewed sad shuttle space time undertaken younger
This is a sad day for NASA. ... But also one of renewed hope for the future of NASA's manned space flight program. The end of the Shuttle Program means that we will begin a new program that will be bigger better and more expensive than anything we have undertaken before. I'm proud of the people that have kept the shuttle going, but the Shuttle Program is done. Its time for the shuttle, like an old dog, to lie on the porch and let the younger dogs chase the rabbits.
building committed departing fly included number remains shuttle space vision
The administration remains committed to the vision for space exploration it has announced. That included a number of components, one of which addressed the fly out of the shuttle and the building of the station. We aren't departing from that.
addressing launch shuttle
Right now, we're still addressing what the implications are on the shuttle launch schedule, and if I say I don't know what those are, that's an understatement.
amazing america brilliant difficult humans machine shuttle station
As I have often said publicly, the shuttle is the most amazing machine humans have ever built, and it has been the recipient of the most brilliant engineering that America can provide. The station is a more difficult engineering project, by far, than was Apollo,
budget keeps money nasa
This is not about new money, ... This is about a budget which keeps NASA ... approximately where it is today.
coming feet
his feet actually were coming up off the ground.
apollo folks
By and large, the Apollo folks got it right,
delay entire existence friend program space tom
The space program has had no better friend in its entire existence than Tom DeLay. He's still with us and we need to keep him there.
apollo unless vehicle wants
Think of it as Apollo on steroids, ... Unless the U.S. wants to get out of manned spaceflight completely, this is the vehicle we need to be building.
apollo
Think of it as Apollo on steroids. But understand, we did not set out to make it look like Apollo.
crucial future land lewis
The requirement to live off the land will be crucial to our future in space, just as it was to Lewis and Clark.
looks
Much of it looks the same, ... It's a significant advancement over Apollo.
beginning goals ourselves year
This has been a big year for us. We set some goals for ourselves at the beginning of the year, and we accomplished those goals.