Space Warriors

Space. For some, it's a curiosity.

For me, it's my passion,

and for as long as I can remember,

It's always been my dream to travel

beyond our planet.

Thankfully, the road was paved for me

long before I was born.

I believe that this nation

should commit itself to achieving the goal

of landing a man on the moon

and returning him safely to the Earth.

After Apollo 11 took us there,

becoming an astronaut became the dream

of every young boy and girl in America.

And the space program grew,

and the stars were no longer just something to look up at,

but a new frontier to explore.

My father was an astronaut aboard the Space Station

before becoming a flight director at Mission Control in Houston, Texas.

He was there during the peak of the shuttle program,

for the successes

and the tragedies.

Things changed after that,

for my parents and for NASA,

but not me.

With a part-time job at NASA's Space and Aeronautics Museum,

I was still looking to the stars.

I know what you're thinking.

"How could that scrawny kid with his voice changing get into space?"

This is astronaut Charlie Duke,

one of only 12 men to have ever walked on the moon.

Hey, Jimmy. How are you?

Here we have Astronaut,

a mechanic designed to work alongside astronauts on space missions.

As it happened, there was a way to go to space,

Space Camp, where this year,

the first prize to their annual summer competition

was a trip to the International Space Station.

With a dad who'd worked at NASA,

I knew everything there was to know about space,

which I was hoping might be just enough

to make it into the competition.

I can remember the fateful day it all began

like it was yesterday.

MOW.!

Mom! I forgot my key!

Yes. Yes.

- Ohh. - Freeze!

Put your hands where I can see them.

L-I'm not breaking and entering. I live here.

You live here. Yeah, they all say that.

I'm afraid you're gonna have to come with me, son.

Highway Patrol?

Space Patrol.

If you're not a space junkie like I am,

it's hard to explain what that moment felt like.

Congratulations, Jimmy.

I'm Captain Roy Manley.

Your essay--

For real?

Nah, I just wanted to drive all the way out here

to break your heart.

Heh heh. Congratulations, old sport. You're in.

I bet I know why I won.

I bet you don't.

Because my dad was the smartest

and bravest astronaut ever in the program.

I win. What'd we bet?

Because I know so much about the Space Station?

Well, that helps. It will be nice having an expert on board.

No, your poem.

By Magi? You know it?

It made me remember,

remember how I felt in the beginning.

Now...

if I can just meet with your mom and have her sign a few forms...

Oh, uh, that's the thing.

She's a lawyer. She's at work.

Just have her call me, and, uh,

we can meet later and have her sign those forms then.

- Okay. - Goodbye, Jimmy.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Come on, Tops.

This can't be happening.

But no man works alone,

and in order to compete against the reigning champs at Space Camp,

we were going to need a world-class team ourselves.

- -

Tao, the rocket man.

Sergei, this is Captain Manley.

Sergei, computer genius.

Did you design all these characters yourself?

I do back-end code for Hallows Revenge.

My buddy gives me characters for free.

A practical boy.

[ "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lyndon Skydiver playing ]

- Hurry up with that oil, son. - Almost done, Dad.

Rusty, the mechanic.

Sweet home Alabama.

Thank you, mister.

Uh...

that could be a challenge.

- -

Dani, robotics genius.

Cool.

I think I'm available.

Oh, you might not want to--

- - Robert, unlink.

Robert, unlink. Unlink.

Unlink.

I'm sorry. It's, uh, a work in progress.

[ "Don't Rain on My Parade" playing ]

And, of course, a pilot, Lacey.

It is an honor to meet the best pilot in our competition.

Is there a reason you prefer drones?

My father died in an F-18 when I was 7.

Drones reduce the exposure risk of the pilot.

Ever since the moment of his funeral,

this is all I've ever wanted to become,

and I can fly anything you throw at me.

You sure you have what it takes to pilot a spaceship to the stars?

Are you questioning my piloting skills, Captain?

Now I just needed to convince my mom to let me go,

and, so far, she wasn't budging.

Hey, Mom. How was your day?

Oh, it's still in progress.

I have two motions to draft

and an irrevocable trust.

What's that I smell?

It's nothing special,

- - just some homemade lasagna.

Wow. I didn't know it was a special occasion.

Good weekend with your dad?

You know, they gave him a new car.

He was doing such a good job,

they wanted to move him up to management

for much more money,

but he said that he wanted to continue to work in research...

So in lieu of a raise, they leased him a car.

He told me.

Did I mention I'm going to do the lawn bright and early tomorrow?

You can build a roof,

paint Tom Sawyer's fence.

You're not going to Space Camp.

Come here, sweetie.

All right, this is the last time we're gonna have this conversation.

What happened when you were three?

Dad got fired.

Because of a big fight over...

A return heat shield.

And if they'd listened to him,

he could have saved all those people.

Maybe. We'll never know.

But what I do know for sure

is that I've watched two space shuttles explode,

and on one of them, I lost my aunt.

Now, no son of mine

is gonna enter a competition

where the first prize is a ride on the next space project.

But, Mom, we're not going to win.

The other teams are older and totally experienced.

And when you do win--

because you are that smart--

you will be the only kid who can't go to space

'cause his mom doesn't want him to.

Totally.

You know what needs work, kid?

Your lying.

Jimmy! How long are you gonna keep your dad waiting?

Right there.

- HEY- - HEY-

You want to do the right thing here?

Well, don't I always?

Please don't make me the bad cop on this Space Camp thing.

I won't.

I promise you.

- Thanks. - Sure.