One year into the voyage, Helen is found to have a fatal pancreatic infection that can only be cured if the ship returns to Earth, but Ralston refuses to turn back.

Writer Harry Spalding said the film was inspired by space exploration at the time: "There was a lot of talk back then that if people were ever having to go to fly to Mars they'd have to be frozen for the trip and revived when they got there.

"[2] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Bold enough to eschew the joys of planet exploration, dinosaurs and cat-women (its entire story unfolds within the cramped confines of a spaceship), Spaceflight IC-1 unfortunately has no alternative to offer except dreary dialogue and indifferent acting.

Combination of elements have defeated the impact of the film, including traditional British underplaying – okay in contemporary situations – which in futuristic melodrama simply amounts to flat throwaway of dialog and b&w lensing give little visual interest.

"[5] Film historian Brian McFarlane called the film "The nadir of Knowles’s directing career," writing: "The functions of an assorted crew, under the dictatorial leadership of Captain Mead Ralston (US actor Bill Williams), are identified by chest-labels that indicate Psychology, Botany, Education, etc.