描述一群青少年学生参加美国太空总署主办的太空夏令营，亲身体验太空登月的操作环境。不料在一次意外中，他们乘坐的太空舱竟然真地发射升空，几个年轻人登时六神无主，幸好有一个机器人留在舱中协助他们化险为夷。在众多的太空科幻片中，哈瑞．温勒导演本片较著重太空知识的传递而非眩目迷人的特效。外景在NASA 实地拍摄，有些地方颇令人大开眼界。凯特．卡普肖饰演女教官、利．汤普森、凯利．普雷斯顿饰演太空历险的学生，但最讨人喜欢的还是那个造型和表演都相当有趣的机器人。

Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.

The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.