Chuck Hollinshead played a key role in the development of media services at the Kennedy Space Center over the course of 28 years with NASA.

Chuck graduated from Northwestern University, then spent four years as a naval aviator. After serving as a writer and editor for the Martin Aerospace Corporation, he began working with a NASA contractor writing public relations material on the space program.

In 1964, he joined NASA and held a variety of positions in Public Affairs ranging from writer and spokesman to the chief of the Public Information Office. Hollinshead managed the news center for Apollo 11, and served as the “Voice of Launch Control” for later Apollo missions. He was eventually appointed Director of Public Affairs in 1975.

 

Hollinshead earned numerous awards, including NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal for helping NASA regain public confidence following the 1986 Challenger accident. He was also awarded four Exceptional Service Medals for his role in directing Public Affairs efforts regarding the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the Bicentennial Exposition on Science and Technology, the first Space Shuttle flight, and the return to Shuttle operations after the loss of the Challenger.

 

In recent years, Chuck Hollinshead began a battle with Alzheimer’s disease while living in Biltmore Lake, North Carolina. 

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(sources: nasa.gov, my40tv.com)