By Jeff Bunch

Eastern Washington University student Jesse Shelly has always been fascinated with rockets, space flight and the men and women who make it happen.The former air traffic controller got to live out one of his dreams last week.

EWU student Jesse Shelly with astronaut Stan Love

Shelly, a junior studying mechanical engineering and a member of the rocket club, was given the opportunity to participate as a social media ambassador for last weeks test firing in Utah of the largest rocket booster ever made.

Shelly attended the two-day event as a de facto member of the media. He earned his spot by applying through a program run by NASA that was looking for 45 people to learn about the rocket program, see the test firing and promote all of it on social media.

The March 10-11 event was called, Get Fired Up! Experience the Most Powerful Rocket Booster Ever Built. It featured the first test of NASAs Space Launch Systems booster that was built and tested by contractor ATK Aerospace Group.

NASA described the significance of the event on its website before the launch:

NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to see the test firing for the largest, most powerful booster ever built for theSpace Launch System (SLS) NASAs new heavy-lift rocket in development to enable missions farther into space than ever before.When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS on its way to deep space missions, including to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. The solid rocket boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight providing more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the launch vehicle to escape the gravitational pull of Earth.

In addition to the test firing on March 11, Shelly and the NASA Social team were able to tour of the ATK facilities in Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for SLS boosters, which have been used in a long line of space missions. Shelly and other attendees also got a chance to ask questions of NASA and ATK representatives at a press conference that aired live on NASA TV.

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NASA helps EWU student realize rocket dream