On its 40th anniversary, we reassess 1986's SpaceCamp: A Space Odyssey or a Space Disaster?
The 1986 film SpaceCamp, released just four months after the Challenger disaster, faced a daunting challenge. It was a movie about a space near-disaster, and audiences weren't interested in watching a bunch of kids in peril on a space shuttle. Today, it's often spoken of with derision, but is it really a bad movie?
I recently watched SpaceCamp with Senior Space Editor Eric Berger, and here's what we thought.
As a kid, I nearly wore out the VHS tape watching SpaceCamp. It held up surprisingly well, despite its epic levels of cheese. The movie has a lot of love put into it, and while it gets some details wrong, it nails countless minor details that no one except insiders would notice. The cast, a mix of established actors and young up-and-comers, shows that it was a serious effort.
However, the timing was poor. The film's release on June 6, 1986, came on the heels of the Challenger disaster, and it suffered at the box office. The movie's depiction of a space near-disaster, with a group of kids and a rookie astronaut accidentally shot into space, didn't sit well with audiences.
The film's plot involves a thermal curtain failure, which is a plausible concept, but the execution is flawed. The movie also features a schlocky, dumb robot sidekick, which is a staple of 80s adventures. The robot, Jinx, is a spherical maintenance robot with full artificial general intelligence, and it conspires with a NASA mainframe computer to launch the shuttle. This raises a deeper question about the consequences of such a scenario in real life.
If NASA had accidentally shot five American teenagers into LEO, the aftermath would have been devastating. The NASA administrator, launch director, and program manager or PI responsible for the robot would likely be fired or resign. The public's trust in NASA would be undermined, and the consequences would be severe. The movie's depiction of such an event is a fascinating thought experiment, but it's a reminder of the potential risks of space exploration.
In conclusion, SpaceCamp is a fun, silly movie that serves its audience and solves narrative problems. While it has its flaws, it's a product of its time, and it's a reminder of the challenges and risks of space exploration. The movie's 40th anniversary is a chance to reassess its legacy and appreciate its impact on popular culture and our understanding of space.
