The Astronaut Farmer

From the time he was a child, Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) had only one goal: to be an astronaut. To accomplish that goal, he earned a degree in aerospace engineering and joined the Air Force as a pilot, Farmer was a natural for NASA’s astronaut training program and was well on his way to fulfilling his dream when a family situation forced him to drop out of the program and return home, bringing an abrupt end to his career.

Not to be defeated from his ultimate dream, Farmer spent the next decade and every cent he had building his own rocket in a barn on his ranch in Story, Texas, working toward the day when he could triumphantly launch it into space. By himself.

He receives support from his wife Audie (Virginia Madsen) and their children—daughters Sunshine and Stanley, and 15-year-old Shepard, who is already a budding engineer and eager to serve as “mission control” on the big day.

On the eve of the long-anticipated launch, an unexpected problem arises. Farmer’s efforts to secure 10,000 pounds of high-grade fuel catch the attention of the FBI… and subsequently the media, who encamp in droves outside his gate, speculating wildly about this “space cowboy” and his homemade rocket. Farmer finds himself depicted on TV screens worldwide as a renegade hero, inspiring an outpouring of popular support, while simultaneously drawing heavy scrutiny and surveillance from the FBI, CIA, FAA and the U.S. military. With the odds now against him, he still seeks to make his dream come true.