Tommy Holloway Manager, International Space Station Program

Tommy W. Holloway served as the first Director of the NASA Shuttle-Mir Program beginning in October 1994, when Phase 1 became a formal stand-alone NASA program. He continued in this position until August 1995 when he was assigned as the Manager for the Space Shuttle Program.

Early in the Phase 1 Program there was some uncertainty over whether Phase 1 was more part of the Space Shuttle Program - because of all the rendezvouses and dockings that were necessary - or more part of the Space Station Program - because of long-duration astronaut residencies onboard Mir.

Frank Culbertson, who followed Holloway as Phase 1 Director, says in his Oral History, "Tommy Holloway did a really good job of pulling together a compromise ... that established a program office - a framework of working groups with which to negotiate and work the issues... Some of it was based on the Apollo-Soyuz experience ... [and] some of it was just good common sense."

According to Culbertson, "Tommy put together this ... so that everybody [agreed]: 'This is the way we're going to manage this program. This is the way it's going to exist.' And he was able to establish a budget for it, a schedule, and everything. And I thought that that was the real foundation of our success - was that early work Tommy did in that area. A lot of other people worked in it, too, but Tommy's the one who finally pulled it all together."

Holloway began his career with NASA in 1963, planning activities for Gemini and Apollo flights in the Mission Control Center. He was a flight director in Mission Control for early space shuttle flights and became chief of the Flight Director Office in 1985.

In 1989, he was named Assistant Director for the Space Shuttle Program for the Mission Operations Directorate. In 1992, he became the Deputy Manager for Program Integration with the Space Shuttle Program; in 1994 he was named Director of the Phase 1 Program.

Holloway was named manager of the Space Shuttle Program in August 1995. He became Manger, International Space Station Program, in April 1999. On September 30, 1999, he received the prestigious Robert R. Gilruth Award, given to recognize outstanding managers of operations, engineering and science programs.

Related Links:
How Phase 1 Started

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