Bill Nelson Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Florida, first elected to that seat in 2000. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1978 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991. In January 1986, he became the second sitting member of Congress to fly in space when he served as a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle "Columbia". Before entering politics he served in the U.S. Army Reserve in the
Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act Bill Nelson has a similar bill in the United States Senate that would extend the system for three years instead of one. The system was created in 1988 when Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Act Amendments. "This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source." The Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act would extend through December 31, 2014, the application deadline for licenses with respect to which the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) is required to pay third-party claims in excess of a commercial space launcher's required insurance coverage. The Space