Main Line School 7th Grader Gets Wish to Meet CEO of Rocket Company

Oct. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- How many times have you heard “Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it?”  For Devon Prep Middle School Student Brandon Smoot, that’s exactly what he was counting on.

The West Chester seventh grader has a keen interest in aerospace engineering.  He made his first rocket from a kit while a Cub Scout several years ago. When that no longer satisfied his curiosity, he decided to design and construct his own two stage hybrid/solid fueled mini rocket.  

While doing research for his rocket designs he came across Space Exploration and Technology Corporation (SpaceX), (http://www.spacex.com/).  SPaceX is a leading American space transport company, advancing the boundaries of space technology through its Falcon launch vehicles and Dragon spacecraft.  That’s where the wish comes in.

“I started by making designs- built my own rocket ,and launched it three times,” Smoot said. “While I was doing research for my rockets I found SpaceX.  I was looking at their engines and I copied that.”

The more he learned about the company and specifically the company’s CEO/CTO and chief rocket designer, Elon Musk, the more interested he became.  Musk, Smoot learned, is also the founder of PayPal, the Zip2 Corporation, and Tesla Cars.  He was recognized for his work by Research and Development Magazine, receiving their Innovator of the Year Award; he received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics award for the greatest contribution to the field of space transportation; and he was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine.

So what would a bright, curious and resourceful 12 year old do after learning all of this? He’d write to Musk and ask to meet him, of course. That’s what Smoot did in February. Shortly thereafter he received a letter and several gifts from the Marketing Department at SpaceX .

“I sent Mr. Musk some of my own rocket designs and requested a visit to one of their offices.  The company wrote me back, sent me some SpaceX gifts and an invitation to come out to their corporate office in Hawthorne, California to meet Mr. Musk.” Smoot said.

“It was too good to be true. I thought this was a really big success. I got a t- shirt, wrist band and a letter inviting me to go out to California to meet the CEO and take a tour for 2 hours. It was very exciting.”

In late summer Smoot, his dad Gregory, and little brother Dylan, traveled to southern California and the SpaceX headquarters where he got his wish. He met Musk, Jeff Williams (a NASA astronaut), and several key SpaceX employees who showed him the ins-and-outs of building rockets.  He also took a tour of the entire factory getting to see, among other things, rocket engines and fuel tanks.

Although Smoot didn’t get to spend too much time with Musk it was long enough to ask a few questions.

“I had rehearsed several (questions) in my head so I was ready,” he explained. “I asked him, ‘How was the Falcon Heavy going?’.  Mr. Musk smiled and said that Falcon Heavy was going fine.  He said that it was going right on schedule.” (Falcon Heavy is the world’s most powerful rocket set for launch in 2013 to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.)  

Smoot’s second question was about space travel. “What will it take for people to fly to space just like flying in an airplane?,” he asked the CEO.  Musk explained that the key is reusability of the rocket so both stages (parts) can be recovered.   When a space craft takes off and lands like an airplane it does not need major fabrication (re-building) between launches.

As their meeting came to a close they posed for some photos, Smoot presented Musk with a special leather bound journal, they shook hands and Brandon and his family were off to the rocket building factory for a tour.

“I didn’t get to spend too much time with him but it was still very exciting. I gave him a leather bound notebook because pen and paper is still the fastest way to get your ideas down instantly. It’s quicker than typing it up.”

What does the future hold for this exceptional young man, who thinks he’d like to someday be either CEO of a major researching company or VP of SpaceX?

“I’m interested in earth science,” Smoot declared. “ I like testing things and seeing how they work. It’s fun when you see your rocket blasting off.  If it doesn’t work - I just try again.

I want to build rockets, not necessarily fly in them, but help build them,” the middle schooler continued. “One of my goals is to work for SpaceX and help the company make space travel affordable for the average person.  In my letter from SpaceX they encouraged me to consider an internship with them when I get to college. I think I’d like to do that.”

Devon Prep is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades six to 12 conducted by the Piarist Fathers. The school is located on a 20 acre campus in Devon, Chester County and enrolls nearly 300 students who hail from Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties as well as parts of Philadelphia. For more information call 610-688-7337 or visit www.devonprep.com  or www.facebook.com/devonprep.