SpaceCamp is just what it sounds like, a movie about SpaceCamp. Unfortunately for the campers things go a little off kilter when the mission robot, Jinx, sends the campers on a flight that they weren’t prepared for and didn’t anticipate taking. They have no communications with NASA other than Morse code, which goes largely ignored by ground control, and they have to link up with connect with the space station Daedalus in order to obtain the oxygen they need for re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. Through a lot of self-discovery and teamwork they get the job done and manage to return to earth none the worse for wear.
Here are a few things you might not have known about the film.
10. The movie became a marketing nightmare.
It was slated to come out around the same time the real Challenger blew up. After being pushed back for months the film did very poorly when it finally came out. There was just too much realism in the film after that, no matter what it was supposed to be.
9. The simulator scene was filmed at a real space camp.
There had to be some realistic aspects of the movie and the simulator was the closest thing they could get their hands on.
8. In the original script a group of Russian kids are sent up to retrieve the American kids.
That might have been seen as controversial in a very weird way and also could have upset any number of people for several reasons.
7. The footage shown of the Orbiter landing is actually footage of the Challenger.
This marked the first night landing of the shuttle program.
6. This was Joaquin Phoenix’s film debut.
He was an unknown before this movie and kind of stayed that way for a while until he got a bit older. Once he aged a bit his career really took off.
5. The cast and crew jokingly wore ‘SpaceCramp’ t-shirts.
This was done to reflect the numerous delays and problems with the film. It’s easy to imagine that people were getting a little irritated.
4. There were scenes filmed at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.
This was home to the first space camp program and it was probably an exciting moment to show the place off so that he cast and crew could get a feel for it.
3. There’s a hidden message when Jinx is talking to the computer.
The hidden messages are a reference to Martin Shorts’ character, Ed Grimley, who was popular on Saturday Night Live at the time.
2. Lea Mitchell played in Jaws 3.
She played the role of Sean Brody’s girlfriend in the film.
1. Forever Man by Eric Clapton is playing when Tate Donovan pulls up to camp.
This just seemed like an interesting trivia fact to throw in there to let people know about, not a big deal.
SpaceCamp was supposed to be a big deal however. The tragedy of the Challenger greatly overshadowed the movie and even months later wasn’t considered to be much of a success.
To be honest a lot of people have forgotten about it.
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