Space Warriors

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1

[ Music playing ]

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.

JOHN F. KENNEDY:

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.

[ Rattling doorknob]

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.

[ Narrating ]

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.

- [ Fireworks whistle ]

- [cheering ]

- [screaming ]

- Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah

JIMMY:

Tao, the rocket man.

[ Applause ]

[coughs]

[ Chorus vocalizes ]

Back in the U.S.

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Well, the Ukraine girls

really knock me out...

Sergei, this is Captain Manley.

JIMMY:

Sergei, computer genius.

Moscow girls make me

sing and shout...

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.

[ Choir vocalizes ]

[ "Sweet Home Alabama"

by Lyndon Skydiver playing ]

Sweet Home Alabama

Where the skies

are so blue

- Hurry up with that oil, son.

- Almost done, Dad.

Sweet home Alabama

JIMMY:

Rusty, the mechanic.

Lord, I'm coming home to you

Sweet home Alabama.

Thank you, mister.

Uh...

that could be a challenge.

[crowd cheering ]

That girl thinks she's the queen

of the neighborhood

She's got

the hottest trike in town

That girl, she holds

her head up so high

I think I want to be

her best friend, yeah

Rebel girl

I know I wanna take you home

I wanna talk to you...

- [ Clanging ]

- [cheering ]

JIMMY:

Dani, robotics genius.

[ Chorus vocalizes ]

Cool.

I think I'm available.

Oh, you might not want to--

- [whirs]

- Robert, unlink.

Robert, unlink. Unlink.

Unlink.

[groaning]

I'm sorry.

It's, uh, a work in progress.

[ Manley groans]

[ "Don't Rain on My Parade"

playing ]

JIMMY:

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?

Hey, world I'

Here I am

Don't tell me not to fly

I've simply got to

Nobody had better

Rain on my parade

IHah

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.

[ Mom sighs]

I have two motions to draft

and an irrevocable trust.

What's that I smell?

It's nothing special,

- [ding ]

- 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

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