On This Day January 12 1986 - Florida Congressman Bill Nelson Flew Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia

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On This Day January 12 1986 - Florida Congressman Bill Nelson Flew Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.

On this day January 12 1986, Bill Nelson took off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as a payload specialist, becoming one of the few sitting members of Congress to travel into space. The mission represented a rare intersection of government leadership and the American space program during the height of the shuttle era.

Nelson’s flight highlighted the confidence and national pride surrounding space exploration in the mid 1980s. At the time, NASA missions were closely...

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