In 1972, Elton John released “Rocket Man” — a classic hit single and one of his most recognizable tunes. In 2003, Nicolas Graham was born, and it didn’t take long for the song title to be a fitting way to describe him. 
 
Graham, a senior in aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, says he’s been dialed into science and engineering since his age was in the single digits. 
 
“Both of my parents are engineers and also went to S&T, and their engineering mindsets have definitely influenced me,” says the Parker, Texas, native. “An especially formative moment was visiting the Johnson Space Center in Houston when I was seven or eight. I was enthralled by the scale and intricacy of everything. Later, we saw an exhibit on human spaceflight at the Perot Museum in Dallas, and my excitement continued to take off.” 

That passion for rocketry and space stayed strong as Graham grew older, leading him to choose aerospace engineering as his major, join S&T’s Rocket Design Team and eventually launch his own liquid-propelled rocket.  
 
“A couple of years ago, I wanted to prove to myself that I could build and launch a liquid rocket on my own and then use those experiences to support our team’s even larger rocket,” he says. “I started working during Thanksgiving break in 2023 and had a complete design by the end of the month.” 
 
By April 2024, the 7-foot-tall rocket that is about two inches in diameter successfully took off from a site in the Mojave Desert in California and traveled approximately 1,250 feet into the sky. 
 
“This was a proud moment for me, but I couldn’t have done it without the knowledge gained on the design team and support from my friends and other amateur rocketeers,” he says.
 
Building on his rocket experience, Graham says one of his main goals is to use his propulsion engineering knowledge to help make space more accessible. Elton John’s song says “Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids,” but Graham hopes that won’t always be true. 
 
“Only a small fraction of people have ever experienced space,” he says. “I want to help change that and help build a future where more people can live and thrive off Earth.” 
 
Graham’s love for rockets and space travel has also led to him taking part in internships and cooperative education programs with some major players in the space world, including Agile Space, Firefly Aerospace, Axiom Space and the NASA White Sands Test Facility. 

In the Rocket Man song, John sings “all the science, I don’t understand,” and shares how his trip is “gonna be a long, long time,” but Graham says he believes being a student at S&T and the scientific knowledge that comes with it will give his career a high-speed launch. 
 
“Missouri S&T has helped me build a strong foundation in my field and offered so many resources to support my future,” he says. “Being a student here has opened up incredible opportunities in undergraduate research, design teams, networking and hands-on experiences in labs and with the space industry.”  
 
To learn more about Missouri S&T’s aerospace engineering programs, visit mae.mst.edu. 

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to The Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.