History Film / SpaceCamp

* ActivationSequence: After hearing Max's wish to go into space, Jinx goes to the NASA main network, which he activates in a scene where the top of his main body lifts up with flashing lights coming out of it, while the computers activate one by one, their lights and screens coming on. He does it a second time later, but since we've already seen in by that point this one only lasts about five seconds as opposed to more than thirty.

* AscendedFanboy: Max is an avid fan of ''{{Franchise/Star Wars}}'' and will make numerous references to the franchise in nearly every scene he appears in. Kevin even plays the part of Obi-wan Kenobi to help Max get the courage to help Andie. This was after earlier in the film [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calling him out on his immaturity, and his over-the-top fandom specifically]].

* CoolShades: Kevin and Andy wear Ray-Bans.

* FriendOrIdolDecision: Not knowing Andy is stuck outside, NASA attempts to bring the shuttle down on auto-pilot. Kathryn finds the override, but if they override, they will miss the window to Edwards. Kathryn has a HeroicBSOD and Kevin overrides the controls at the last second, becoming the Mission Commander of the team again.

* {{Jerkass}}: Kevin. At the beginning of the film, he switches his credentials with those of another attendee, just so he could get to be with Kathryn. Also, in another scene, after he and Kathryn were discovered to be making out at the launchpad, he yells at Max for Jinx spilling everything.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Almost invoked with Kathryn. When Andy needs to connect the new oxygen tank, she asks Rudy, the camper assigned as a system engineer which valve to use. When he makes a slight mistake, Kathryn gets fed up and grabs the manual from him, telling Andy to use a different valve. When Rudy insists that he's right, Andy uses his advice and they get their oxygen filled properly. As the others celebrate, Kathryn has a {{BSoD}}, realizing she almost blew up the shuttle.

* NoOSHACompliance: NASA straps seven kids on the space shuttle unsupervised by a NASA employee, and seals the door. This is negligent even without being accidentally launched, no matter how good their grades at [=SpaceCamp=] were. It's handwaved in the film; when Zach is pinning up the announcement he mentions the Camp trying to get permission to have campers in the test. After all, accidental launches only happen once in 4 billion years, right?

* TapOnTheHead: [[spoiler:Andie.]] Actually handled relatively accurately. [[spoiler:She is heard wearily on the radio shortly after she was knocked out, suggesting she wasn't out for long. When she is rescued, she is treated for a shoulder injury, explaining why she couldn't assist in her own rescue.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So what exactly did happen to Hideo Takamini, the camper whose place on the Blue Team was usurped by Kevin? He's never seen again after Kevin swipes his badge, and is never mentioned after the confusion at the first roll call.

* SceneryPorn: The first couple of minutes after they reach orbit consists of the Blue Team, including Andie, taking some time to watch Earth beneath them (specifically Europe and northern Africa) as they approach their first on-orbit sunset. It acts as a good emotional buffer before RealityEnsues, allowing them to tackle the task of getting back home from a more rational perspective.

* RealityEnsues: After the initial euphoria of orbital flight, Max says he wants to go home, and the questions start as the kids try to wrap their heads around exactly what happened. Andie takes charge immediately, telling them they ''will'' get home.

In 2020, Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios [[https://collider.com/space-camp-remake-disney-plus-snl-writers/ made plans for a remake]] to air on Creator/DisneyPlus.

* MoralDilemma: Not knowing Andy is stuck outside, NASA attempts to bring the shuttle down on auto-pilot. Kathryn finds the override, but if they override, they will miss the window to Edwards. Kathryn has a HeroicBSOD and Kevin overrides the controls at the last second, becoming the Mission Commander of the team again.

-->"Whoa. Is that India we're coming up on?"

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Tish[[note]]Who was "assigned" to "communications" at the beginning of the movie.[[/note]] thinks to use a telemetry switch to send Morse code in place of the nonfunctional radio. But it takes quite a while for anyone in the control room to notice: before Jinx identifies it, it's lost among all the other blinking lights.

* EmergencyRefuelling: The class gets launched into space accidentally. The ship has enough fuel to safely return to Earth, but not enough oxygen. NASA tells them to go to the space station to pick up more. Predictably, things go wrong.

-->'''Andie:''' Ignite Booster A, [[PrecisionFStrike goddamnit]]! '''''LAUNCH US, OR WE'RE GONNA EXPLODE!'''''

* MachineMonotone: Both JINX the robot, and the voice given to the computer he communicates with. Both ably played by Frank Welker.

* LiteralGenie: Jinx sends the into space when he hears one wish to go there, no matter the consequences.

* MachineMonotone: Both JINX the robot, and the voice given to the computer he communicates with.

* MoralDilemma: Not knowing Andy is stuck outside, NASA attempts to bring the shuttle down on auto-pilot. Kathryn finds the override, but if they override, they will miss the window to Edwards. Kathryn has a HeroicBSOD and Kevin overrides the controls at the last second, become the Mission Commander of the team again.

It was released amid a marketing nightmare that came about from the 1986 ''[[TooSoon Challenger]]'' [[TooSoon shuttle disaster]] that claimed the lives of seven American astronauts[[note]]Including a civilian school teacher.[[/note]] and grounded the shuttle program indefinitely until the cause could be determined and rectified. It didn't help, either, that the malfunction in the film [[HarsherInHindsight partly resembled the malfunction in life]].

* EntendreFailure: Jinx the robot.

--->'''Andie''': [[BigShutUp QUIET!]] I don't want to hear about it. I ''can't'' hear it. You know why? Because you're all dead.

-->'''Rudy''': What about the propulsion system? We could breathe the liquid oxygen from there.\\
'''Tish''': The propulsion system uses nitrogen tetroxide, Rudy. We wanna breathe, not dry clean our lungs.

-->'''Kevin''': Hey! Great boosters!

->''"God damn it, launch us or we're gonna explode!!"''

%%* AlmostOutOfOxygen: A major plot point. [[spoiler:Twice.]]

* ChekhovsGun: Or in this case, Tish's belt, which is used to help Max fit inside the space suit so he can help Andie bring back the oxygen tanks.

* ExecutiveDecision: Not knowing Andy is stuck outside, NASA attempts to bring the shuttle down on auto-pilot. Kathryn finds the override, but if they override, they will miss the window to Edwards. Kathryn has a HeroicBSOD and Kevin overrides the controls at the last second, become the Mission Commander of the team again.

--->'''Andie''': [[BigShutUp QUIET!]] I don't want to hear about it. I ''can't'' hear it. You know why? Because you're all dead. You just burnt up on re-entry. Don't you understand what that means?! You're all dead, because you didn't work together as a team.

* TooDumbToLive: In context, anyway. Surely, Rudy--who was put in charge of "equipment function and operation"--would've figured out by then that the Shuttle's on-orbit propulsion system was not the same as the launch propulsion system before suggesting it as a source of oxygen.[[note]]The launch propulsion system uses liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer, fed by the external tank. The on-orbit propulsion system, the oft-mentioned Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS), uses hydrazine fuel and (di)nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer.[[/note]]

'''Andie:''' Because someday, you're goin' up. But the only way that will happen is if you have every drill here down better than everyone else. There's no room for mistakes. Every 'i' dotted, every 't' crossed. That's the way I learned it. That's the way you'll learn it. You copy?\\

* ArcWords: "[[ABoyAndHisX Max and Jinx]], friends forever."

* AvoidTheDreadedGRating: "Shit" is uttered in the early half of the film by Rudy.

%%* TheEighties