The screenplay by Lewis Colick, based on the book of the same name, tells the story of Homer H. Hickam Jr., a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes and eventually became a NASA engineer.
[3] Principal photography took place in rural East Tennessee, including Oliver Springs, Harriman and Kingston in Morgan and Roane counties.
Homer teams up with math geek Quentin Wilson, who shares an interest in aerospace engineering; with the support of friends Roy Lee Cooke and Sherman O'Dell, and their science teacher Freida J. Riley, they construct small rockets.
The boys present their findings to Miss Riley and the school principal, Mr. Turner, who determines the cause was a flare from a nearby airfield.
Overnight, someone steals his machined rocket part model – the de Laval nozzle – and his autographed picture of Dr. Wernher von Braun.
With the town's support and replacement parts sent to Indianapolis, the boys win the top prize and Homer is bombarded with college scholarship offers.
Preparing for the launch of their largest rocket yet, Homer asks his father to come and tells him that Von Braun is brilliant but is not his hero—implying John is his true idol.
An epilogue reveals the real-life outcomes of the main characters' lives, noting that Miss Riley died, the mine closed, and all four Rocket Boys went to college, going on to successful careers, with Homer working at NASA.
Although it takes place in West Virginia, Tennessee was the location of choice for filming in part because of the weather and area terrain.
Cast and crew recalled the major weather shifts and tornadoes in the area during the filming months, but Joe Johnston claimed, "Ultimately, the movie looks great because of it.
A small switching yard allowed the filmmakers and actors to film the scenes with the boys on the railroad and gave the freedom to do as they pleased, including the tearing apart of tracks.
The critic's consensus states: "Rich in sweet sincerity, intelligence, and good old-fashioned inspirational drama, October Sky is a coming-of-age story with a heart to match its Hollywood craftsmanship.
"[14] James Wall of The Christian Century described the film's concentration on the father-son relationship as "at times painful to watch.
[16][17] The Christian Science Monitor pointed out that some viewers may question "the movie's hero-worshiping treatment of Homer's role model, Wernher von Braun, who's depicted as an all-American icon with no acknowledgment of his earlier career in Nazi Germany.
In addition, the ballistic weapons that he developed for the Nazi regime were largely constructed by concentration camp prisoners who faced inhumane conditions, with many dying due to their brutal imprisonment.
In a subsequent conversation with the science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, Bezos commented that he had always wanted to start a space company.