As a child, Davis Booth (BAAS 21) watched the Space Shuttle launches and knew he wanted to be part of that exciting world.
Now, he's helping humanity go to worlds beyond, reaching unimagined heights with his work.
He's not going to space personally. Instead, he's part of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) team in Cape Canaveral, Florida. His work is critical to successfully launching the rockets that carry payloads to assist in space exploration and scientific research.
ULA rockets propel many missions. They have been instrumental in deploying national security satellites for the U.S. Department of Defense, launching communication and broadcasting satellites for private companies, and supporting science and exploration missions for NASA. They also have helped position weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The education [at ENMU] prepared me as an engineer and was accepted by my peers as being on par with other engineering programs from larger universities across the country.”
ULA recently furthered human space exploration with a Boeing crew flight test, in which Booth participated. Booth's role with such missions is as an 'out-of-this-world' engineer. Essentially, Booth is a troubleshooter in the high-pressure environment of a rocket launch, as the clock ticks toward execution.
"My work involves the reliability and performance of our launch vehicles," Booth said. "I'm responsible for ensuring the electrical ground support equipment and the ground command, control, and communication equipment are working properly during the countdown to launch. If an anomaly is reported during this time, it is my job to offer recommendations to the vehicle systems engineer."
It isn't easy to launch a 20-story rocket into space.
Countdown and preparation begin several hours before liftoff. Booth and the rest of the crew sometimes pull all-nighters to get the job done. All that work and attention to detail pays off when an Atlas V rocket thunders into the early morning sky.
Booth's work to secure safe and efficient methods for interplanetary exploration and research is helping to move the horizons between humans and space.
But before he was launching rockets beyond our atmosphere, he gained the knowledge that launched him into the space exploration industry right here in Eastern New Mexico.
"The ENMU Electronics Technology Program is valuable to getting a foothold in this industry," Booth said. "The education [at ENMU] prepared me as an engineer and was accepted by my peers as being on par with other engineering programs from larger universities across the country."
The next time you gaze at the night sky, wondering what other worlds and galaxies are out there, know that a fellow Greyhound is helping to make known what still remains out of this world on the edges of our universe.