About Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A member of the Democratic Party, Nelson served from 1979 to 1991 as a U.S. representative from Florida's Space Coast, and from 1972 to 1978 as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. In January 1986, he became the second sitting member of Congress to fly in space, after Senator Jake Garn, when he served as a payload specialist on mission STS-61-C aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Before entering politics, he served in the United States Army Reserve during the Vietnam War. In 1986, Nelson became the second sitting member of Congress (and the first member of the House) to travel into space. He won reelection in 1974 and 1976. He was redistricted to the 11th congressional district, encompassing all of Brevard and parts of Orange, Indian River, and Osceola counties; he won reelection in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1988.
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