NASA chief quits, cites terrorism, time with family

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's fiery administrator, Daniel Goldin, is stepping down next month after a decade in the top job, ending a tenure that made him the longest-serving head of the space agency.

Goldin announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family and that last month's terrorist attacks played into his decision.

"Like many American families, you ask yourself, 'What are you working for?"' Goldin said, noting that he often put in 18-hour workdays.

"I find that I get such intellectual satisfaction and such personal satisfaction from the job that it drives me. But on the other hand, when all gets said and done, if I do have a family and I don't interact with them, what have I accomplished in my life? My life was out of balance."

Goldin will leave on Nov. 17 with a record of 160 successful space missions, 11 failures -- including back-to-back Mars flops -- and an international space station that is now permanently occupied.