Hollinshead Helped Shape Media Services at Florida Spaceport
By Bob Granath
Chuck Hollinshead, former director of Public Affairs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, died Jan. 25, 2021 in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 89. Hollinshead helped shape the course of media services at the Florida spaceport and throughout the agency over 28 years, 17 as director of Public Affairs. Hollinshead and his wife had three children.
After announcing his retirement in May 1992, Hollinshead looked back on his career in Kennedy Public Affairs.
“It’s been a fabulously exciting career,” he said. “Working with this history-making team at Kennedy is a privilege and experience I will always cherish.”
In overseeing Public Affairs efforts at Kennedy, Hollinshead was highly respected by both government civil service and contractor public relations professionals.
When I began work in Public Affairs for Lockheed Space Operations Company at Kennedy in late 1983, Chuck helped acquaint me with many of NASA’s key people leading the center and the Space Shuttle Program. He was especially helpful pushing through unnecessary government regulations making our jobs more efficient and effective.
Hollinshead was born in September 1931 in Danville, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Northwestern University, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1954 and spent four years as a naval aviator.
After his discharge from the Navy, he became a writer and editor for Martin Marietta’s Orlando, Florida, division for five years where he wrote technical publications and worked on the company’s employee motivational programs.
Hollinshead came to Kennedy in 1963 to work for RCA Service Company writing news media and public relations material on the space program.
The following year, he joined NASA and held a variety of positions in Public Affairs ranging from writer and spokesperson to the chief of the Public Information Office. Hollinshead was manager of the NASA News Center for Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the Moon. He went on to serve as the “voice of launch control” for the countdown of Apollo 13 and numerous expendable rocket launches.
From 1970 to 1972, he was vice president of Venetian Inc., a land development and real estate management firm in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He returned to Kennedy in 1972 to head the center’s Public Information Office and provided countdown commentary for Apollo 16 and 17, as well as launches for the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs.
In January 1975, Hollinshead was appointed director of Public Affairs, serving on the center director’s policy staff, advising him on matters concerning Kennedy and Public Affairs operations. His responsibilities included media relations, protocol and guest operations and an educational outreach program aimed at bringing science information into elementary and high schools.
Hollinshead also was responsible for accommodating as many as 2,000 media representatives at special events, community relations activities associated with Kennedy and the content and operation of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
During his NASA career, Hollinshead earned numerous awards, including NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1986 for his role in helping NASA respond to news media inquiries following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. He was awarded four Exceptional Service Medals for directing Public Affairs efforts associated with the Apollo/Soyuz mission, the Bicentennial Exposition on Science and Technology, the first flight of the Space Shuttle and the return-to-flight following the loss of the Challenger.
Through the years and after retirement, Hollinshead served in positions including executive director of the United States Space Camp Advisory Council, an advisor to the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, and as a member of the Brevard Community College Board of Governors, the Public Relations Advisory Council, and the Florida School of Journalism and Communications.
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