HIGHLANDS RANCH This is the story of a boy who dreamed of being an astronaut who now shoots rockets into space for NASA.

In the late 1990s, Jerry Larson started Up Aerospace in his Highlands Ranch garage with the goal of inspiring high school and middle school kids to embrace science.

On Monday, Up was one of four U.S. companies picked for the latest round of contracts for NASA's Flight Opportunities program. This award means experiments from around the globe will ride into space aboard an Up Aerospace rocket, with the goal of providing data for future aerospace development.

Early days

At age 9, Larson was enraptured by the iconic television images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon. He dreamed of being an astronaut, spending his time building model rockets one of which is perched atop a filing cabinet in his office.

This love of space and science led him to an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Washington and a career with Lockheed Martin.

Yet, while working on such high-profile projects as the U.S. Space Shuttle, Larson held a vision for a company that would harness that wide-eyed sense of wonderment he felt while watching the first moon walk in 1969.

In 1997, Larson came up with the idea for Up Aerospace.

"NASA used to provide flights once a year for a university, and they let the universities compete and then there'd be one winner. I always thought that was unfortunate," Larson said. "Why can't they all win? That's where the idea for this company originally came up."

He's proud that more than 4,000 students, some as young as sixth-graders, participated in the program.

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Up Aerospace, born in Highlands Ranch garage, shoots rockets for NASA