Race to Space

2002 • 104 minutes

About this movie

Based on the true story of the first chimpanzee in space, James Woods stars as Wilhelm Von Huber, a NASA scientist who transfers to Florida with his son, Billy (Alex Linz). Billy dreams of becoming a hero like the young astronaut Alan Shepard. Wilhelm dreams of Billy becoming a scientist like him. When Billy is hired by Dr. Donni McGuiness (Annabeth Gish) to help train the chimpanzees for the NASA space mission, he develops a close bond with Mac, one of the chimps. But when Mac is chosen to become the first chimp sent into space, Billy soon realizes that if Mac is successful on this mission, something could go terribly wrong. Father and son put aside their differences and work together in hopes of bringing Mac home safely.