MILLINGTON, Michigan USA — What began as an after-school activity turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Millington High School students.

Last week, the school's rocket program - involving a student club that studies physics, engineering and rocketry - received the opportunity to test its rocket at NASA in Huntsville, Ala.

"The launch was amazing, and it was such a cool experience," said Jill Schubring, 17. "Actually being down there and launching a rocket was so neat. Our flight was gorgeous, nothing went wrong, and it was a beautiful liftoff."

This wasn't a toy. The red-and-black rocket was about 10 feet tall and 5 inches in diameter.

The Millington students' high-powered rocket was built to test mercury levels between Michigan and Alabama, said Mark Ratza, the club's teacher.

Millington last year placed fourth in the nation for its project out of 750 teams in the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

The honor drew the attention of NASA, which selected Millington as one of 10 teams to participate in its Student Launch Initiative.

The community donated $1,400 to help fund the students' trip to Huntsville, Ratza said.

"Michigan is more industrial, and Alabama more rural, so we were trying to infer the effects on nearby wildlife, lakes and streams," said Robert Hasselbeck, 18.

In Huntsville, the seven-student team presented the project to NASA scientists, engineers and employees; toured the facility; and launched the rocket.

Although team members didn't meet their mark of sending the rocket more than a mile into the air, they presented their findings and received internship offers.

"Between the (Student Launch Initiative) and NASA, it was like they were preparing us for a job," Jill said.

The students found many similarities between the way they constructed their rocket and the work NASA performs.

"All the structural was the same," said Robert, who plans to study chemical engineering at Michigan State University in the fall. "With NASA rockets, they're using liquid hydrogen for fuel and a lot more mass, but it's all kind of the same thing."

The students also had the opportunity to have dinner underneath the Saturn V rocket - one of the first to fly in space - and in the recently opened Davidson Center for Space Exploration museum, Jill said.

"They got me interested in getting a career at NASA," Robert said. "Most of the team was like, 'I want to be an astronaut now.'"

Copyright © 2008, The Flint Journal.