NASA administrator discusses upcoming space projects and collaborations.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson never imagined he would hold his current position.

""I never thought I would have a chance to fly in space, as I grew up in the shadow of the cape," Nelson said."

Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, served in both the House and Senate. In 1986, he flew with the crew of the space shuttle Columbia and became the second sitting member of Congress to travel to space, after Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah.

"I flew in the space shuttle. We had 135 flights, two of which were catastrophic. The first one, Challenger, occurred 10 days after our return to Earth," Nelson stated. "The space environment is unforgiving, and those moments of white-knuckle tension are intense when the shuttle is launching and landing."

Since the space shuttle completed its final mission in 2011, NASA has been collaborating with more private companies for space travel and research. This partnership has brought Americans together, says he.

"Just imagine how the space history here has united us. When the Soviets defeated us, we were terrified because they had the advantage of high ground. They had Sputnik, and then they sent Yuri Gagarin into space first for one orbit. But just a few months later, John Glenn embarked on his historic journey in the Mercury capsule. He carefully maneuvered himself into the capsule, which was perched on top of an Atlas rocket. There was a 20% chance that the rocket would explode, but when Glenn successfully completed three orbits, it marked a turning point in space history."

Space is a vital component of the American spirit, as Nelson stated, and it's all about turning the impossible into reality.

President John F. Kennedy stated during a speech at Rice University in 1962 that we decided to go to the moon in this decade and accomplish other challenging tasks not because they were easy, but because they were difficult.

NASA's research has been inspired by Kennedy's speech, which established the agency in 1958 with a mandate to develop technology that benefits both space and earth.

"NASA Technology Transfer Program Executive Daniel Lockney stated that since 1958, the organization has been making these technologies available to the public through new products and services, which improve our lives and contribute to the U.S. economy. These technologies also save lives and are often just really cool things that result from the nation's investment in aerospace research."

NASA inventions or intellectual property have been transferred to the public sector by Lockney.

"We receive recognition for actions we did not perform, which is a great issue to encounter," Lockney stated. "However, an invention we created but do not receive credit for is the camera found in your mobile phone."

In the 1980s, spacecraft imaging spurred the growth of the digital camera industry by utilizing charged devices to capture images in space. By the following decade, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in California focused on developing image sensors that consumed less power and were more cost-effective to mass-produce, resulting in the creation of a small digital computer chip.

"Nokia approached us with a wacky idea of putting a camera in a telephone when we didn't know what to do with it, Lockney said."

The microchip, being lightweight and high-resolution, didn't need much power and was ideal for spaceflight and handheld personal devices.

Nelson stated that we now have the ability to capture a stunning photograph with our cameras.

Space flight technology is advancing on Earth, but more research and innovation is being conducted in space. According to Nelson, astronauts are constantly experimenting at the International Space Station. Additionally, private companies are sending astronauts into space for experimentation.

"Pharmaceutical companies are sponsoring additional astronauts who bring their own research to space, and we have full-time astronauts up there to send it up for longer periods," he stated.