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NAME: Bill Nelson (Congressman)
Payload Specialist
PERSONAL DATA: Born September 29, 1942. Bill is a fifth generation Floridian. He is married and has two children.
EDUCATION: Educated in Melbourne's public schools. He is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1968.
SPECIAL HONORS/AWARDS: Bill has been honored by the Florida Jaycees as one of the Five Outstanding Young Men of Florida, and was nominated as the Most Valuable Member of the Florida House of Representatives. Two Florida colleges have conferred upon him honorary degrees – a doctor of laws degree from Rollins College and a doctor of science degree from Florida Institute of Technology.
EXPERIENCE: Bill was a Captain in the United States Army, serving in the reserves from 1965 to 1971, and was on active duty from 1968 to 1970.
In 1972, he was elected to the Florida Legislature and served 6 years until he was elected to Congress.
Bill was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1978. He was re-elected to his fourth term in 1984. He is Chairman of the Space Science and Applications Subcommittee and a member of the Banking Finance and Urban Affairs Committee.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-61C Columbia (January 12-18, 1986) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to a night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the six-day flight the seven-man crew aboard Columbia deployed the SATCOM KU satellite and conducted experiments in astrophysics and materials processing. At mission conclusion Bill Nelson had traveled over 2.1 million miles in 96 earth orbits and logged over 146 hours in space.
JANUARY 1986
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