October Sky (1999)

[GabrielAlejo2341]

While most of President

Eisenhower's advisors...

Today are ominous.

Washington...

If you have just tuned

in to this special bulletin,

Washington has confirmed

that, yesterday,

on the fourth of October, 1957,

the Soviet Union

successfully launched

history's first

man-made satellite

into space orbit

around the Earth.

The satellite, which the

Russians have dubbed Sputnik

is being hailed as a

milestone in history.

No one in our nation's capital

could deny that the satellite

has ushered in a grim

new chapter in the Cold w*r.

And indeed, a wave

of national anxiety

already seems to be

sweeping the country.

Still maintaining its

speed of 18,000 miles an hour,

completing an orbit

of the Earth every 96 minutes.

Doctor Wernher von Braun,

chief engineer of the army

ballistic m*ssile agency,

expressed the hope

that the United States

would soon be following

the Russians into space

with our own artificial satellite.

Mister von Braun confirmed

that there has

still been no actual

sighting of

the Soviet satellite,

but the U.S. expects

to be tracking it very soon.

We are told that Sputnik will

be visible to the naked eye

about an hour after sunset

and an hour before dawn,

as it traverses the October

sky over the United States.

What the beeping signal means

we still don't know.

It may be nothing more...

Let's go, Roy Lee.

It's almost 9:00.

Sure are in a hurry

to get yourself k*lled.

No kiddin'. There are easier ways

to commit suicide, Homer.

Will you just step on it, Roy Lee?

I am steppin' on it.

Okay, Maguire, Longstreet,

Hickam. Let's see what you got.

Hey, take it easy

on my kid brother.

Make him look good, all right?

Let's go! Hut!

Hut two!

I thought I told you

to take it easy on him.

I did take it easy on him.

Ten!

I'm gonna run right over

you, you son of a b*tch.

You hear me?

Hut one! Hut two!

Homer, you sure got guts,

but you gotta know when to quit.

Okay, Miller! You're up!

Why should the damn jocks

be the only ones

gettin' scholarships?

They're also the only

ones that get the girls.

This burns my a*s.

What do you boys think about this?

Isn't that something? Hmm...

Let 'em have outer space.

We got rock 'n' roll.

I'm with you. We got enough

to worry about down here.

Homer, your dad say

anything about any layoffs?

No.

Have they pulled any more pillars?

Uh, he didn't say.

Does he talk at all?

Oh, yeah. He talks.

Damn it, Jake!

Didn't I tell you to put some men

to work on those roof bolts?

Was I talkin' to the wall?

I'm sorry, John.

We was just tryin' to get...

Make sure the hoot owl shift

sets those timbers by the vent!

Two more days on that block,

we're gonna be down to the bone.

I guess that's...

Jensen!

Get out of the way!

Jensen, look out!

Come on. Come on, Jensen.

Come on back.

Come on. What happened?

Whole damn mountain

'bout fell on your head.

And John here...

He saved your life.

That's my dad.

I want you out of this mine.

Don't come back, you

stupid son of a b*tch.

Didn't I tell you to

watch the roof, huh?

Now we could've all been k*lled

'cause you didn't have

the sense to look up!

That's my dad.

Homer.

Well, how'd it go?

Well, I told you. You spend

the summer shovelin' coal,

and you'll be playin'

linebacker next fall.

What's the matter, Homer?

Not cut out for mining coal?

Me neither.

Hey, let's get that mess cleaned up!

Let's get some cribbin' on that roof!

Buck up, Homer. You're a Coalwood boy.

When you get down in the mine,

get that coal shovel in your hand,

feel just as natural to

you as a tick on a dog.

And get that slate off the loader!

It's the radio signal

transmitted by the Soviet Sputnik.

Listen now for the sound which for

evermore separates the old from the new.

That's it? That's the Sputnik?

That's Sputnik.

Well, big deal.

Big deal? What you fail to grasp

is that the sound you're

hearin' is bein' transmitted

by an object that is travelin'

at 18,000 miles per hour,

559 miles high,

and orbitin' the Earth every nine...

Shut up!

Boys, not in my class!

Thank you, Quentin.

Now Quentin's right, y'all.

Sputnik is a milestone in history.

Things'll never be the same again.

What do you think about that, Homer?

Well, yes, ma'am. Uh...

Cat got your tongue?

We were talkin' about bein' in orbit,

hundreds of miles away from the Earth.

You know anything about that?

No, ma'am.

I got my eye on you, boy.

Now who can tell me why

Sputnik is so important?

We ought to just

sh**t the damn thing down.

It's got one of them

little spy cameras in it.

It takes pictures of every

one of our m*ssile bases.

This country'd better get on

the ball before it's too late.

All I know is this Sputnik

had better show up soon.

I'm gettin' a crick in my neck.

All right. What you need to do

is take her to the movies.

Somethin' scary, like

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

Then you take your arm

and put it up round

the back of her chair, like so.

Now when it gets real scary,

and she ain't payin' attention

to nothin' but the movie,

you sort of let your arm sort

of slide on down her shoulder,

real nice and slow and easy,

until...

Hey! Hey!

I see it! Right there!

Where? Where?

You seein' things, Carl?

I see it.

Where?

I see it. It's right there.

Wow.

Son of b*tches gonna be droppin'

bombs on us from up there.

Don't know why they'd

drop a b*mb on this place.

Be a heck of a waste of a b*mb.

The first game against Welch...

That's the one that's

gonna draw the scouts.

Yeah. Welch knows it too.

They're gonna be coming after us.

Well, y'all be careful, Jim.

Last year, those two boys from

Welch got their arms broken.

Well, they started it.

It don't matter much who started it.

I don't call that football.

You don't worry about Jim.

Ain't nobody on the Welch

team that can catch him.

I wish the scouts could've seen

that first game with Bluefield.

I'm gonna build a rocket.

Like Sputnik.

Well, I'm not sayin' it's gonna

go up in space or anything,

but I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna build a rocket.

Well, just don't blow yourself up.

More eggs, anybody?

Nice rocket, Homer.

How high do you think it will fly?

Well, I got it packed with

the powder from 30 sky rockets.

Three, four miles.

You ready? Yeah.

Yeah.

Ten, nine,

eight, seven, six...

Should we get behind somethin'?

What happened?

My rocket blew up.

Are you okay?

I guess.

My heart's poundin'.

I thought the mine blew up. Oh, Homer.

I waited six months

for the company carpenter

to finally get around

to puttin' up that fence.

Didn't I tell you not

to blow yourself up?

Yes, ma'am.

Then let's not.

Elsie.

It's all right, Ms. Fields.

It's all right.

Dear Dr. von Braun...

Six, five, four, three...

My name is Homer Hickam.

Two, one...

I'm 17 and I live in a small

mining town in West Virginia.

Ignition.

Liftoff. Liftoff.

I'm writing to offer my

condolences to you and your team

on your recent attempt

to launch the Vanguard rocket.

I also had a disastrous occurrence

during the launch of my own small rocket.

Since here in Coalwood,

everyone's much more interested

in what's down below the Earth

than what's above it,

there isn't a whole lot

of material to be found

on the subject of rocketry.

So I've been kind of

stumbling around in the dark.

You can't be seen with him, Homer.

He's a weirdo. You go ahead,

but you can kiss your

social life goodbye.

Hi, Homer. Hi.

I don't let anybody

copy my homework.

I don't wanna copy your homework.

Um,

do you know anything

about rockets?

Of course I do.

Uh, you wanna come with

me over to the library?

No.

What do you wanna

know about rockets?

Everything.

Well, rocketry was actually invented

by the Chinese as early as 1,000 A.D.

And, supposedly, they

were quite sophisticated.

"Potassium chlorate and sulfur."

Uh, well, what'd you use?

Uh, somethin' like that.

Hey, Quentin, this is great.

This is exactly... We have

everything we need in here.

Roy Lee, drive me to my house.

We can use my basement.

Yeah, at least nobody'll

see us down there.

Go, go, go.

Come on.

You got a loose choke cable.

You hear that?

The butterfly valve

isn't closin' all the way.

Uh, last year I built

an internal combustion engine

and entered it in

the science fair.

Yeah, well, you wouldn't happen

to have it on you, would you?

Ugh!

Ow! I'm sorry.

You missed a spot.

This thing's startin'

to look like a rocket.

Listen to this. "Weld the washer

"to the base of the rocket body,

"creating a combustion chamber

and nozzle."

We don't know how to weld. Weld.

Homer, your brother's in metal shop.

Maybe he could, uh...

Do we really need

this nozzle thing?

For cryin' out loud,

the nozzle's

the most important part.

It directs the flow

of the hot gases!

Hey, cool it, Quentin.

Man, talkin' about

your hot gases.

I don't think your father

would like you sneaking up in

the middle of the night in here,

and I know that

he wouldn't like me

welding for you on company time.

Well, what if I paid

the company for your time?

Homer, I can't.

I would lose my job.

I'm sorry.

Did you see Sputnik go

over the other night? Nah.

'Cause it was beautiful.

I stood there and watched it

streak across the sky.

And anywhere in the world,

someone could look up

and see exactly what I saw.

For once, it felt like Coalwood

was part of the outside world.

Homer, believe me,

there are much

worse places than

Coalwood in this world.

Besides, this is just

a flying piece of steel.

You know, a rocket took

it up there, Mr. Bykovsky.

I don't know. I...

When I was workin' on

this rocket, I felt like,

I felt like I was,

like I was Wernher von Braun.

Let me see.

Homer,

it will be our secret.

Mr. Bykovsky did

a dang good job on this.

Yeah, well, he used

a washer for the weld.

Man, it looks just like it did

in the picture. Prodigious.

When, uh, when do we go?

Give me that. Uh, Saturday...

What is this,

a weapon of some kind?

No, sir. It's a, it's a rocket.

I don't allow dangerous

devices on school grounds.

Mr. Turner, I asked Homer

to bring that to school.

To show it in class.

You know, the boys

are thinkin' about

enterin' that

county science fair.

Be careful, gentlemen.

I'm gonna have my eye on you.

Thank you, Mr. Turner.

That science fair is rigged.

All the judges are from Welch,

so only the kids

from Welch ever win.

And besides, science

fairs are for geeks.

No offense, Quentin.

Well, it's too bad

you feel that way.

You know, the winners go on to the

national Science fair in Indianapolis,

and colleges from all over the

country hand out scholarships.

It's great.

Have a good lunch, boys.

College scholarships

for winning a science fair?

Well, maybe it's not for you.

Well, what do you mean?

Homer, you got a great mind.

But science requires math,

which has never been one

of your favorite subjects.

Can't just dream your way

out of Coalwood, Homer.

Auk I. Stroke of genius, Homer.

It won't fly unless

somebody lights the fuse.

What the hell is a Auk?

It's a bird that don't fly.

What, kind of like a parakeet?

Ready?

Well, Youngstown's

always been fair, Otis,

but you're asking me to

lay off damn near half the town.

The mine is just not producin'

the way it was

10 years ago, John.

We're payin' the same labor

for half the tonnage.

What if we were to

open up a new shaft?

That coal is down there, Otis.

You just let me go after it.

The Coalwood mine is

givin' out, Mr. Hickam.

Move!

Ten...

Nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two...

Uh-oh. Holy sh*t, it's

headed for the mine!

I told you we didn't

know what we were doin'!

I told you! Oh, no. Oh, no.

I don't believe this.

Go ahead.

God in heaven, I thought

it was a guided m*ssile!

I thought the damn

Russians were attackin' us.

The boy's in trouble now.

So this is what you been

up to in the basement, huh?

Yes, sir.

Damn, Homer.

You could've k*lled somebody

with this idiot thing.

I know, sir. I'm sorry. I was...

Well, Homer here wants to be a

rocket scientist. Is that it, John?

He has no idea

what he wants to be.

But I know what he is.

He's a menace,

and he's a damn thief.

Dad...

And so is whoever helped you.

Ike Bykovsky did this, didn't he?

Don't you ever let me catch you

with these fool things on company

property again, you understand me?

Yes, sir.

Then go home.

Yeah? What's your tunnel number?

He called me a thief, Ma,

in front of everybody.

I mean, how could he do that?

He was dead wrong

callin' you that.

He'd never have

done that to Jim.

They could catch Jim

stickin' up the company store,

and Dad would probably laugh

and say, "That's my boy."

I know he's hard to understand

sometimes, Homer,

but you have to

know he loves you.

He loves the mine...

More than Jim even.

More than you.

You hush up.

What's it given him back?

Nothin' but a spot on his lung

the size of a damn quarter.

You don't know what

the mine gives me.

You don't know

'cause you're still a boy.

But, by golly, you're gonna

find out soon enough.

I'm never goin' down there.

You better have a talk

with your son, Elsie,

'cause he's out of control.

Where's my rocket stuff?

Right where they belong.

Quentin, you know, that rocket

went up at least 100 feet.

More like 200.

God...

Man, will you

cut it out, Roy Lee?

Die, you son of a b*tch.

Come on. My turn now.

Hey, man. What's with you?

Man, we should be tryin'

to get in that science fair

instead of sittin' around here

like a bunch of hillbillies.

I got some really bad news for you,

Homer. We are a bunch of hillbillies.

Besides, um, didn't your

dad say no more rockets?

No. He said no more rockets

on company property.

Do you realize how far

we'd have to go to get

off company property?

Yeah. We have to go to Snakeroot.

Snakeroot? That's eight miles.

It's not that far. I mean,

we could walk if we have to.

Oh, walk. That's

a fantastic idea.

Let's go! Come on!

Wake the hell up,

will ya, Homer?

I got about as much chance

of winnin' that science fair

as you do winnin'

a football scholarship.

I know I'm gonna be a miner.

I've known my entire life.

What the hell's so

bad about minin' coal?

Nothin', Roy Lee.

Coal minin's great.

That's why your stepdaddy's the

biggest drunk in West Virginia.

I mean, come on, guys!

You know the mine'll k*ll ya.

Did you ever hear the story

about how O'Dell's dad died?

Homer, will you forget it, man?

Shut up, Homer.

A piece of slate caught

him right in the neck

and cut his head clear off.

b*tch! Come on!

O'Dell!

Get off of me!

Hey, fellas.

We're lookin' for U.S. 52.

Uh, fellas?

Uh, just, uh, stay

left at the fork.

It's about another

five miles straight ahead.

Thanks.

You fellas see the way

she was lookin' at me?

Man, you all

wanna be coal miners,

you all go ahead

and be coal miners.

There. There.

God's honest truth, Homer,

what are the chances

of a bunch of kids from Coalwood

actually winnin'

the National Science Fair?

A million to one, O'Dell.

That good?

Well, why didn't you say so?

Come on. Give me that.

Quentin.

What?

We hiked eight miles for this?

Oh, it's great.

What should we call it?

How 'bout a slack dump?

What about "No Man's Land"?

Cape Coalwood.

I mean, it's perfect.

We could build

a blockhouse over there,

and... And a...

And a... And a launchpad.

And we could even

build a test stand!

Dear Dr. Von Braun,

our launch site, which

we've named Cape Coalwood,

is nearing completion.

Thanks to the generosity

of local businesses.

Inspired by our efforts,

everyone is anxious to help

by donating materials.

We've been fortunate to have

the support of our classmates.

And the whole community

here in Coalwood is behind us.

Hey, Rocket Boy.

Mars is that way.

But no one has been more encouraging

to our efforts than my father.

No, the company doesn't have any

cement left over for launchpads.

I just thought I'd ask.

Besides, I told you

no more rockets.

Uh, you said no more

rockets on company property.

And Olga doesn't own Snakeroot.

So, you walk eight miles?

Yes, sir.

Well, tell me something, Homer.

Uh, what exactly is this

Wernher von Braun

and the rest of those

Germans accomplishin' anyway?

'Cause if you ask me,

it's nothin' but a stunt.

You think...

You think catchin' up

to the Russians in

space is a stunt?

When the novelty wears off,

they're all gonna be sent packin'.

Maybe then they'll have to

find themselves a real job.

Like minin' coal?

You listen here.

The coal we mine

makes steel, Homer.

And if steel fails,

this country fails.

If you had half a damn brain

in your head, you'd know that.

Well, who's down there now?

Hold on just a second.

Hey, listen here.

I had an engineer

estimate a new walkway.

They had some cement left over,

so it got caught in the rain...

It's probably ruined.

But if you wanna

haul it out, it's all yours.

Thanks, Dad.

I'll be down there in a minute.

And Miss Riley wanted to make

sure you document your results.

You will be graded

when she returns.

You have one hour.

Potassium chloride

has a potassium atom.

If we mix it with

sugar and add heat,

we'll get three parts oxygen,

two parts carbon dioxide,

along with some other

by-products.

In other words, lots of

good expanding gases.

It should make

an excellent propellant.

It smells like candy. Ooh!

Better get started.

All right, quick. Get rid of it.

Mr. Bolden, have you

seen Mr. Bykovsky around?

He's not in the shop anymore.

Your dad sent him

down to the mine.

He's takin' it out on you

because you helped me.

That's enough of that.

Your father is a fair man.

If he's strict,

it's because he has to be.

Besides, he did me a big favor,

transferring me

from the machine shop.

What are you talkin' about?

I can make twice as much money

down there working the high coal.

You can?

I've got relatives in Europe

who've had hard time

recovering from the w*r.

They depend on me for

whatever I can provide.

So, believe me,

I can use the extra money.

I'm just sorry I won't be able

to weld any more rockets for you.

That's for good luck.

Maybe you could

teach me how to weld.

Welding is very

difficult, Homer.

I could learn.

You don't give up, do you?

I can't.

- Come on, son.

- Hi, Mr. Bolden.

Hey, Homer. I heard

you tellin' Ike

you were gonna be shootin' off

another rocket up here today.

I... I thought that might be

somethin' we'd like to see.

Whoa!

Eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three...

Hey, look out!

Mr. Bolden!

Mr. Bolden, are you okay?

I'm all right.

I'm sorry about that, sir.

Oh, that's all right.

That's all right.

Homer, I flew with the

Red Tails in World w*r II.

And seein' that rocket

come at me...

It almost took me back there.

Hey, let me have

a look at that thing.

That's a good job

on the weld, Homer,

but the heat from the

exhaust melted the washer.

It's referred to as

a nozzle... Uh, sir.

Son, you can call it

whatever you wanna call it,

but you're gonna have

to have a better steel

that can take the heat.

Now I'd say S.A.E. 10-20 bar

stock ought to do you fine.

And I can order it for you.

Well, that'd be

great, Mr. Bolden.

But it's kind of expensive.

Um...

Twelve miles of scrap iron,

and all we gotta

do is pop it loose.

Yeah. Now what are we gonna tell

the railroad when they catch

us pryin' up the track?

It's abandoned.

See, the county's

covered with abandoned spur lines.

A mine shuts down,

the track just rusts over.

$8.20.

This is worth $8.20?

A ton.

Come on.

This thing weighs

a ton all by itself!

Four-hundred pounds.

Four-hundred pounds?

All right.

O'Dell, you're sayin'

this thing is worth a buck 65?

Woo-hoo!

Whoa.

O'Dell?

I... It's abandoned.

Uh, look at the rust.

Caretta number two

shut down in '51.

sh*t!

Get it up!

Get it up! Just get it up!

Give me a hand, man. Come on!

Forget it! Forget it!

Just stop the train!

Roy Lee!

- Stop!

- Stop! The track's out!

Stop! Stop!

Stop it!

Stop! Stop!

The track!

S.A.E. 10-20 bar stock.

Then go 30 degrees crucial.

When the fuel combusts,

it creates a controlled expl*si*n.

The nozzle directs a river of hot gas

that can reach the speed of sound

when it hits the mouth of the nozzle!

Hey, Quentin. Sorry.

It's called a tapered bore.

A tapered bore. Now he's takin'

off just a little bit at a time.

Good deed, good deed.

I'm concerned that the mass

of the added propellant

compared to the mass of the

empty rocket will be too little.

Uh, he's afraid

it'll be too heavy.

Why don't we

just make it longer?

Longer would allow

increased volume

for the propellant

without much additional mass.

Great idea.

We got one!

My guess is, is we're gettin' air

pockets in the body of the propellant.

When the fire hits 'em, they act

like little combustion chambers.

I think we're gonna need

a liquid binder of some sort.

What about gasoline?

That's a good idea.

"Four unidentifiable

high school students

"lost their lives

earlier this mornin'

"when their

toy rocket exploded."

Alcohol. I mean,

alcohol's stable.

And it'll evaporate quickly.

Yeah, but it'd have

to be 100% undiluted.

None of that watered-down stuff

they sell at the company store.

I have no idea

where we could find that.

Listen. I know these fellas,

so let me do all the talkin'.

I'm not gonna say a word.

Is that rocket fuel or what?

Great.

How'd they find out about it?

My brother.

You know, we poop out this

time, the whole county's

gonna be laughin' at us.

Who cares what

any of them think?

Easy for you to say, Quentin.

You're used to people

makin' fun of you.

All right now.

Quentin's right, y'all.

Homer, you don't have to

prove anything to anybody.

You remember that.

Now go launch yourself a rocket.

Come on, boy.

Homer!

Hello, Dorothy.

Is that thing really gonna fly?

Well, it, uh...

That thing had better fly, or

you can kiss your chances of

losin' your virginity goodbye.

Hey, couldn't you guys

find somethin' better to do?

Hey, listen.

There's no practice on Saturdays.

You little sisters are the

only entertainment in town.

Yeah, we were gonna drive over

to w*r, but then we thought,

"Hey, let's go see

Homer blow himself up."

That's real funny, Jim.

Hey, Homer, come on.

We don't got all day.

Shut up, Jim.

Homer, everything ready?

Wait, wait. What?

What do you mean, wait?

Where are you goin'?

Hurry up, y'all.

All right. It won't fly unless

somebody pulls the string.

- Ten...

- Nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four...

Oh, my God!

That's great!

Homer, that was unbelievable!

Let's go, Dorothy.

I'll tell you

what's unbelievable...

The captain of the football

team bein' jealous of you.

What you think about gettin'

in that science fair now?

I think we got a chance.

Well, bless her heart.

Aunt Joanne hasn't seen you

in about a year and a half.

You look like a sausage.

He does not.

Happy birthday, Homer.

It'll stretch some

when you wear it.

You be sure and send her

a nice thank you note now.

All right.

John? Huh?

Oh, happy birthday, Homer.

And I got this in the mail.

Must be a present from Grandma.

What's this?

Oh, it's an autographed picture.

Of Grandma? Rather get socks.

Wernher von Braun.

Well, wonder how he knew

it was your birthday.

I don't reckon he did.

"Dear Homer, congratulations

on your rocket building.

"Continue your education

and maybe one day..."

Boy, you better take an

interest in your own damn town.

Instead of wastin' your time,

worryin' about Wernher von Braun

and, uh, uh, Cape Canaveral.

John, it's his birthday.

All right, Homer. Uh...

Yeah?

Homer, there's strike

talk startin' up again.

Your father's...

Yeah, he's got a lot on his mind.

Yeah, well, I don't give a damn.

"Principles of

Guided m*ssile Design."

I had Miss Waters order it

for you a while back,

and it just came.

I know the math is too advanced

for you. It is for me too.

There's Calculus,

differential equations...

No, I'll learn the math.

This is great, Miss Riley.

I'll learn everything.

It's the best present

that anyone's ever given me.

Thank you.

I'm gonna show the guys.

Well, Quentin will

probably go cra...

Goodness gracious, Hickam.

Watch where you're goin'.

Just...

Where'd you get this?

I gave it to him.

Bye, Miss Riley.

Miss Riley, our job is to

give these kids an education,

not false hopes.

False hopes?

Do you want me to sit quiet,

let 'em breathe in coal dust

the rest of their life?

Miss Riley, once in a while,

a lucky one will get out

on a football scholarship.

The rest of 'em

work in the mines.

How about I believe

in the unlucky ones, hmm?

I have to, Mr. Turner,

or I'd go out of my mind.

It's good, it's good.

Hey, Homer.

Happy birthday, Son.

Got some good news

for you, Homer.

Say hello to Fred Smith from

the University of West Virginia.

Hello, Homer. Hi, sir.

Mr. Smith wants Jim

to play football there.

He's offerin' him

a full scholarship.

Well, congratulations, Jim.

Do you play ball, son?

No, Homer shoots off rockets.

Whoosh and all that st...

Well, rockets are not

exactly my field, son,

but maybe if you work hard

enough, you'll get to college too.

Yeah, on a science fiction

scholarship, maybe.

Jim.

Dear Dr. von Braun,

thank you for

the autographed picture.

It will only further

inspire me to keep working

toward our all-important goal

of entering that

science fair this spring.

We're shootin'

off a rocket today.

I thought you'd

like to come see it.

I gotta catch up on some work.

How come... How come you never

have work when Jim plays football?

You never miss a game.

What time are you gonna do it?

About 4:00.

Uh, I can't promise you...

Somebody pulled a pillar too close.

Yeah?

Well, thank God for that.

Yeah, right now.

Nobody hurt.

Go, Rocket Boys!

Ten!

Nine, eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three, two,

one, liftoff!

You got it? Can you see?

Uh, no. Yes.

See it?

Yeah, I see it.

What's the time?

Looks like 12 seconds.

Which one of you

fellas is Homer Hickam?

Um, it's me, sir.

I'm Basil Thorpe with

the Bluefield Telegraph.

Can I ask you a few questions?

Sure.

"The silvery cylinder

burst forth

"in a fiery column

of smoke and flame,

"racing the very wind

as it soared into the sky,

"a messenger of these

Rocket Boys of Big Creek...

"These boys who use

their brains, not brawn,

"who play not football,

but with Apollo's fire."

Hi, Homer.

Hi, Dorothy.

Would you please

sign my newspaper?

Sure.

I just know you're gonna

be really famous someday.

H-O-M-E-R.

Which one of you fellas

is Homer Hickam?

Excuse me. Excuse me.

What you cost the taxpayers...

What in the world is goin' on?

Miss Riley, this does

not concern you.

You have these

boys in handcuffs.

You have these boys in handcuffs

in a high school, Mr. Turner.

You probably heard about the

forest fire last week over by Welch.

A lot of timber went up.

Mr. Turner, you take these

handcuffs off these boys.

They found a rocket

on the side of the road.

We knew it started

the fire, ma'am.

What we didn't know

is where it came from,

till this morning.

Mr. Hickam, can you account

for all your rockets?

No, sir. I can't.

If you weren't a minor, you'd

be in the state penitentiary.

I know, Dad. I...

Homer, I've been confused by you,

I've been mad as hell at you.

But, boy, it's the first time in

your life I've been ashamed of you.

You couldn't stop, man.

You couldn't!

Get in the car, Homer!

Homer, get in the car.

Idiot! I ought to

g*dd*mn k*ll ya.

We ain't at the mine now.

This ain't your business.

You get in the car

with Homer, son.

You listen to me,

you drunken son of a b*tch.

If that boy's father was

alive, he'd kick your a*s.

So I'm gonna have

to do it for him.

If I see him with a

bruise, you get a scar.

If I see him with a limp,

you get crutches!

You hear me? Do you hear me?

You know, I'm reportin'

you to the union!

Screw you and your damn union.

Your father was one of the best

men I ever had workin' for me.

I was lucky to know him.

Come on.

Let's go have some

fun for a change.

They watched us get arrested.

We're practically ex-convicts.

They'll never dance with us.

Jesus, Quentin. You don't

know anything about women.

I heard she broke up

with that dumb jock.

See you later, Elvis.

Hi, Homer.

Hi, Dorothy.

Jim, look who's here.

Yeah, ain't it past

your bedtime?

Let's go.

Hey, Jim.

Way to go.

Hi, Valentine.

I'm glad you didn't go to jail.

It sure was exciting

watching your rockets go up.

You ever see that movie,

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman?

Homer!

Homer! Down here! Homer!

Homer! Homer! What is it?

Mom! Mom!

Mom?

Your father always

has to be the big hero.

I swear to God, if he gets

k*lled, I won't shed a tear.

It's comin' up!

Who... Who is it?

It's Ike Bykovsky. Bykovsky.

It's John Hickam!

Dad, Dad!

The cable snapped.

May have fractured his skull!

Get out of the way. Move back,

folks! Let us through here!

Tell you what, Homer.

A dozen men would've died today

if it hadn't been for your dad.

Thank you, Doctor.

Mmm-hmm. Bye-bye.

The, uh, doctor says

there's a chance your dad

could lose his eye.

He has to go to

the hospital in Charleston,

and Olga won't pay for all of it.

I'm gonna go down to the mine

and ask Jake Mosby to sign me on.

You can't do that, Jim.

You've got school.

Olga owns this house, Mom,

and half the furniture in it.

If you drop out, you'll

lose your scholarship.

Homer, I'm the oldest.

It's my responsibility.

I'll work in the mine.

Here you are, Mr. Turner.

Thank you, Miss Wade.

Mining coal is an

honorable trade, Mr. Hickam.

Nothing to be ashamed of.

Miss Riley! Miss Riley!

Turn your light on, boy.

Remember when you

gave me these, John?

Carbon crystals from the mine.

Yeah. Honeymoon.

At Myrtle Beach.

And you said,

"You always wanted diamonds.

"But these are the best I

can do. I wish they were real."

John, I never wanted diamonds.

This whole year

has been pretty rough

going down at the mine.

Bad tempers

and a lot of strike talk.

An accident makes things worse.

In a way, I guess,

I'm the one who's responsible

for what happened to Mr. Bykovsky.

Listen to me, Homer.

Last month,

I gave Ike the chance to go

back to the machine shop,

and he turned it down.

Yeah, he stayed in the mine

'cause the money was better.

That was his decision.

You understand me?

Yes, sir.

Well, is mining coal as

terrible as you figured it'd be?

I guess not.

But almost.

Everybody says to say hi.

Michael and Billy.

Valentine Carmina.

How about Miss Riley?

She ain't been around much.

She got some new boyfriend over in Welch.

So, uh, what's it like down there?

You get used to it after a while.

Besides, shoveling coal

has got its advantages.

Check this out.

Man, no wonder my stepdad

can slug me so good.

After a month down there,

you'd be able to knock him out.

Well, I ain't in no hurry.

See ya all later. See ya, man.

See ya, Homer.

In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Amen.

We appreciate the sacrifice

you made here, Homer.

But pretty soon,

you'll be able to go back

and finish up the school year.

I'm not going back to school.

A few weeks left in the term,

I'll just stay put.

Well, I think you ought

to finish high school.

Well, tell him, John.

Homer's not a boy anymore.

I don't think I can

tell him anything.

John, is the cutoff was not

done proper

according to contract.

Well, the company

did what it had to do.

Well, you know the Union

won't put up with it.

Just give it a rest, Jake.

It's my first day back.

Hey, Lenny, how's he doing?

He's a chip off

the old block, John.

It's good to have you back.

Thank you.

Hi. I'm headed toward the

face. You wanna come along?

Even though I don't

have that piece of paper,

the thing from college,

they listen to me.

You know why?

'Cause you know

more than they do.

You bet your life I do. Homer,

I know the mine

like I know a man.

Heck, I can take

one look around here...

Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm not afraid

of a little coal dust.

Hell, Homer,

I was born for this.

I guess it shouldn't surprise

me that you were too.

Let's go watch

'em sh**t some coal.

Elsie, hold dinner

for a while, will you?

I have to make a call.

Homer,

I was in the store today,

and I heard some talk.

Boy, it's sure hard to keep a

secret in this town, isn't it?

But I guess I did

a pretty good job.

You know, there's a rumor

going around that I been

sneaking off to Welch

to see some beau.

I wish that rumor'd been true.

Yeah.

They told me Hodgkin's

can go into remission,

so I might have some time.

Is there anything

I can do, Miss Riley?

You can accept my apology.

For what?

My life's work is teaching.

And I believed that if you

boys won that science fair,

got scholarships,

went off and did

something great with your lives,

somehow my life would

have counted for something.

Homer.

You know what?

Sometimes you really can't

listen to what anybody else says.

You just gotta listen inside.

You're not supposed

to end up in those mines.

You know why? 'Cause I

think you made other plans.

I want you to know something.

I'm proud of you. I am.

Whatever you choose.

Excuse me, ma'am,

is Quentin home?

Quentin.

Homer, you figured this

equation out by yourself?

Well, if I did the math right.

It proves that you can't...

It proves we didn't

start that fire!

Quentin, what're you doin'?

Now, the Auk XIII

was the only one

that we couldn't find that day.

And our best guess for

fall time with the Auk XIII,

which is exactly identical,

was about 14 seconds.

If you help me with

the trig part, Quentin,

we should be able

to make a good guess

where that rocket landed.

Six thousand, three hundred

and twenty-eight feet.

1.2 miles.

Homer? Yeah?

Are you gonna tell Roy Lee

and O'Dell where I live?

It wouldn't matter if you lived

in the governor's mansion,

they'd still think you're weird.

I'll see you at dawn.

Don't you have

to go to the mine?

I don't work there anymore.

One.

Two.

Ninety-nine.

A hundred seven.

One hundred and twenty-six.

That's 6,300 feet.

It's gotta be

around here somewhere.

What'd we do wrong?

I don't know. I...

I'll check the math again.

Was there a wind that day?

I... I don't remember.

'Cause if there was,

the wind probably

came from the west,

which means that it

would've pushed the rocket...

Right there.

Prodigious.

Associated...

Mr. Hayes, where you

off to in such a hurry?

Okay, everybody,

back in your seats.

Miss Stanton,

Miss Blue, let's go,

back in your seats. Mr. Hancock.

That goes for you

too, Mr. Wilson.

Miss Riley, what's

going on in here?

They didn't start

that fire, Mr. Turner.

In the first place, you are

not a member of this classroom.

Neither are you, Mr. Turner.

Why don't you let

the boy defend himself?

And in the second place,

this rocket proves nothing.

You've already admitted having

lost a number of your rockets.

You cannot prove conclusively

that another one of them

didn't start that fire.

Yes, I can.

Are we to conclude, Mr. Hickam,

that since leaving school,

you've not only become an

expert in rocket science,

but in the field

of trigonometry?

I didn't say that I was a rock...

Obviously, you learned more

in the coal mines than

you did in high school.

Let the boy talk.

Go ahead, Homer.

Now, that fire was near Welch, just

under three miles from our launchpad.

And at the time of the fire,

the best that we could do

was 1.2 miles,

which is exactly where we

found that rocket, Mr. Turner.

See, Mr. Turner, that rocket fell

for about 14 seconds, which means

that it flew to an altitude

of 3,000 feet.

According to the equation,

S = 0.5at^2,

where S is the altitude, a is

he gravity constant or 32,

and t is the time it took for

that rocket to come back down.

Velocity equals

acceleration times time.

Get him, Homer, get him.

Are you following

this, Mr. Turner?

All right, we're all

duly impressed.

But do you mind telling me, if you

did not start that fire, who did?

What is it?

Whatever it is, it's ingenious.

The fins are spring-loaded.

That isn't a rocket at all.

It's an aeronautical flare.

There's an airport

here in Welch.

It's right above

where the fire started.

Mr. Hickam, report to my office

as soon as we return to school.

You do intend to enter the

county science fair, do you not?

Yes, sir, we do.

Well, if you intend

to represent Big Creek,

you're gonna have to be

enrolled as a student at Big Creek.

"Prodigenous."

Do you think you

can draw well enough

so Mr. Bolden could build it?

Yep. Let me see.

Yeah. Hey, Homer.

Hi, Dad.

What's this stuff doin' here?

Mr. Hickam, we didn't start the fire.

The troopers gave it back to us.

Yeah, it wasn't even

one of our rockets.

It was an aeronautical flare.

Y'all go on home now.

Yes, sir.

This the reason you

skipped work today?

Yes, sir.

I thought you put all this

nonsense behind you, Homer.

I thought you weren't gonna be doin' it...

Dad, it isn't nonsense.

I... I don't wanna

argue with you.

Look, son,

I can't even begin to tell you

how proud of you

I've been these past weeks.

I mean, you've just been doin'

a hell of a job in that mine.

You keep goin', you're

gonna have my job someday.

Everybody says so.

You got any idea how

proud that would make me?

Dad, but I...

I guess what I'm

sayin' is, is that

if this rocket stuff

is so important to you,

then so be it, as

long as you're careful.

Guess there's worse

hobbies you could have.

But skippin' work,

that's out of line.

And you gotta know that.

So let's go and get

you right with Jake.

Tell him you'll work

the hoot owl shift tonight.

No.

The coal mine's your life.

It's not mine.

I'm never going

down there again.

I wanna go into space.

Home Hickam,

Roy Lee Cook, Quentin Wilson,

and Sherman O'Dell

of Big Creek High,

for their ingenious display

of amateur

rocket-building techniques.

I can't believe we beat

the kid with the robot dog.

And I thought the

see-through ear was gonna win.

I got Miss Wade workin'

on your travel arrangements,

so you boys are gonna have to

decide who's goin' to Indianapolis.

We're all goin'.

Yeah.

Son, I wish you could, but we can't

afford to send all four of you.

Only one.

Let me know what you decide.

I'm gonna have

to know by Friday.

You boys did a fine job today.

I need to borrow a suitcase, and

I'm gonna need you guys' addresses,

because I'm gonna

write some postcards.

Oh, you shut up, Roy Lee.

Come on, you dope.

You know, you're goin', Homer.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Say hello to the outside world for us.

Do we know what we want?

Yeah!

- Are we gettin' it?

- No!

All right! All in favor of

goin' out on strike, say aye!

Aye!

All right, let's go!

All right, settle down!

Let's go!

Strike! Strike! Strike!

Well, they sure are

gettin' themselves worked up.

Everybody's sayin' this

one's gonna be a long one.

And it will, if I have

anything to say about it.

Ungrateful sons of b*tches.

Mom, have you seen

the big green suitcase?

Did you look in the attic?

Yes, ma'am.

Well, I don't know.

John, you know where the suitcase is?

How the hell should I know

where the suitcase is?

I don't know, sug.

John!

Y'all stay inside!

Earl Lee!

I'm gonna k*ll

that son of a b*tch!

Oh, don't be a damn fool.

All right, well,

what are we gonna do?

Nothin'.

Drunken b*stard couldn't hit

the broad side of a barn.

He tried to k*ll you, Dad.

Yeah, Dad, you can't just stand...

Hey, hey, don't

trouble yourself, Homer.

You got more important

things to worry about.

Just go look for your suitcase.

Forget about it, Homer.

Shut up, Jim!

Listen, I'm sorry

about what's goin' on

around here,

but it isn't my fault!

What do you want from me anyway?

Better watch yourself, Homer!

If I win at Indianapolis,

maybe I can go to college,

maybe even get a job

at Cape Canaveral!

There's nothing here for me!

The town is dyin'!

The mine is dyin'!

Everybody knows it here but you!

You wanna get out of here

so bad, then go! Go!

Yeah, I'll go! Yeah, I'll go!

Go, go! I'll go!

And I'll be gone forever!

I won't even look back!

Welcome to Indianapolis.

Visitors to the fair will include

prominent members of every branch

of the national scientific community.

The fair will be open to the

public over the next two days.

The following day, the judges

will arrive to select the winners.

By timing the rocket's descent,

we would be able to figure out

just how high the rocket flew.

Would you like to see?

This is a de Laval nozzle.

Do any of y'all know

what a de Laval noz...

Two, please.

The judges always go for

the most expensive exhibits.

That guy with

the biosphere's gonna win.

I don't think so. My money's on

the kid with the rocket display.

Have you seen it yet?

It's really cool.

Mr. Owens, to the security office.

Mr. Owens, to the

security office, please.

It's not like we got a hell

of a lot of time, Roy Lee.

The judging is tomorrow.

There's nothin'

we can do without Mr. Bolden.

And he can't get anywhere

near the machine shop.

They even took my

picture of Dr. von Braun.

They stole everything.

Leon, what are you doing back here?

You know you shouldn't be seen back here.

I know, Elsie,

but Homer's in trouble.

Elsie, I don't have the power

to settle this strike.

The bosses listen to you.

They'll do what you tell 'em.

I am not gonna crawl on my belly

in front of those

miserable Union rats.

Is that what this is about, John?

Is this about your pride?

No, it's about

what's best for Coalwood.

If this mine doesn't produce,

then the town dies.

Think the Union gives

a good damn about that?

They're nothin' but a bunch of

greedy sons of b*tches that...

Shut up, John. Just shut up.

Homer once said you love the

mine more than your own family.

And I stuck up for you 'cause

I didn't wanna believe it.

Homer has gotten a lot of help

from the people in this town.

They've helped him

build his rockets,

they've gone out there

and watched him fly 'em.

But not you, John. You never

showed up. Not even once.

Now, I'm not asking

you to believe in him,

but he's your son,

for God's sake, John.

And I am askin' you to help him.

If you don't, I'll leave you.

I'll find work. I'll do whatever

it takes to get away from here.

I'll live in a tree to get away

from you. Don't you think I won't.

Where would you go?

Myrtle Beach.

I guess we all know

this isn't gonna fix things,

uh, at least not for long.

We know you did

what you could for us.

Jake. Thanks.

Leon.

Yes, John.

Don't you have some work to do?

It's packed and shipped and on its way.

Be at the bus station, 8:00 a.m.

Okay, Mom, but how'd you...

Your father, Homer.

It was your father.

Give 'em hell, Homer!

Good luck, sweetie.

Bye.

Thanks, Dad.

When the rocket

propellant burns,

it produces a river of gas

which flows through the

convergent section of the nozzle.

If the river continues

through the nozzle,

or through the throat

at less than sonic speed,

that is to say,

less than the speed of sound,

it becomes compact in the...

Compacted in the divergent section,

bound in turmoil and inefficient.

Lyle Wells and Jean Cooper,

Schrader High School, McMinnville, Oregon.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, the big moment.

The highest scholastic

achievement award for Science.

The national science fair

first prize gold medal

goes to Homer Hickam,

Quentin Wilson, Roy Lee Cook

and Sherman O'Dell,

Big Creek High School,

McDowell County, West Virginia.

Tom Webster of

Virginia State College.

I wanna talk to you

about a scholarship.

Jack Palmer, Virginia Tech.

We got the best science program

in the state, buddy, okay?

Congratulations, son.

Good luck to you.

What did he say to you?

What did who say?

Von Braun. That was Wernher von Braun.

You just shook his hand.

Oh, Homer, I'm so proud of you.

Thanks, Mom.

He's not here, hon.

Where's Miss Riley?

Hello, Miss Riley.

Hi, Homer.

Hi. Hi.

Oh! You did it!

I knew you would.

The Rocket Boys

are goin' to college.

We all got scholarships.

And you know what?

From now on, every school year,

I'm gonna brag to

all my new students

about how I taught Homer Hickam

and the Rocket Boys.

Maybe one day,

one of them'll feel like

they can do what y'all did.

You know, just, stuff

like that takes time.

Will you let me out?

I don't know what they

were doin', charging Olga

for that kind of a pump.

Hell, why don't we

salvage something up here?

Hey, Dad. Hi.

Hello, Homer.

I just wanted

to tell you how much

I appreciate what

you did for me.

I know it wasn't easy

for you, so thank you.

And we're shootin' off

our last rocket today at 5:00,

so if you'd like

to come see it...

I got a lot of work to do.

All right. Well, I just

thought I'd ask.

Hear you met your big hero.

Didn't even know it.

Look,

I know you and me don't exactly

see eye to eye on certain things.

I mean, man, we don't see eye

to eye on just about anything.

But, Dad, I come to

believe that I got it

in me to be somebody

in this world.

And it's not because I'm so

different from you either.

It's 'cause I'm the same.

You know, I can be just as

hardheaded and just as tough.

I only hope I can be

as good a man as you are.

I mean, sure,

Dr. Von Braun's a great scientist,

but he isn't my hero.

It's our last rocket.

Yeah, let's do it.

Wire it up for me, will ya?

Yeah.

I gotta do something.

Hi, Homer. Hi.

Congratulations on winning

the science fair.

It's gotta be

the most exciting thing

that's ever happened around here.

Yeah.

Um, I was thinking, Homer,

if... If you've got some time...

Excuse me, Dorothy. Hi.

Hi.

Good luck. Thanks.

Hey, everybody, can we

have your attention, please?

Come on, Homer, let her fly!

We're gonna launch

the rocket in a minute,

but we'd like to

say thank you first.

If it wasn't for y'all, we'd never

have gotten into any science fair.

We'd probably never have gotten

past blowin' up my mom's fence.

But we did,

because of your help and support.

And this is for Coalwood.

There are a few people who

believed in us even before we did.

We'd like to dedicate

this rocket to them.

To Ike Bykovsky.

To Mr. Bolden,

who helped us so much.

To the person who

first inspired us,

our teacher, Miss Riley.

And, finally, I'd like to dedicate

this rocket to my mom and to...

My dad.

You know, it, uh, won't fly

unless somebody pushes the button.

It's yours, if you want it.

Ten, nine...

Eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

Look at it go, Homer.

This one's gonna go for miles.