Tommy Holloway. Photo: Spaceflight Now/NASA TV

Tommy Holloway, Manager of the International Space Station Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, today announced plans to retire, effective July 3. Holloway's deputy, William H. Gerstenmaier, will take over as program manager.

Holloway was named space station manager in April 1999 after serving as manager of the Space Shuttle program for nearly four years. He began his career with NASA in 1963, planning activities for Gemini and Apollo Flights at what was then known as the Manned Spacecraft Center. He was a flight director in Mission Control for early Space Shuttle flights and became chief of the office in 1985.

In 1989, he was named assistant director for the Space Shuttle Program for the Mission Operations Directorate. He served as Deputy Manager for Program Integration with the Space Shuttle Program and Director of the Phase I Program of Shuttle-Mir dockings before being named Space Shuttle program manager in August 1995.

"Tommy's been a fixture with NASA for nearly four decades and his contributions to the agency's human space flight program and the Johnson Space Center are considerable," said Frederick D. Gregory, Associate Administrator for Space Flight at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "His leadership helped set the standards of safety and success for our Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. I will miss him both personally and professionally."

Gerstenmaier first joined the Space Shuttle program in 1980, serving as Propulsion Flight Controller. In 1992, he got his first managerial assignment for the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle project. Gerstenmaier was selected in 1995 to be the Operations Lead in Moscow for the first phase of the Shuttle- Mir program, serving as lead for the ground control team.

In August 1998, he was named Space Shuttle Program Integration Manager and in December 2000 he was selected as Deputy Manager of the International Space Station Program. Since then, he's been responsible for the day-to-day management, development, integration and operations of the orbiting research laboratory.

"Bill and Tommy have worked side-by-side for years on a variety of projects, so I expect this to be a smooth and seamless transition," added Gregory. "Bill's extensive program knowledge and experience will be a steadying force as we move forward with the International Space Station construction and research."