Editing October Sky (section)

==Plot==
In October 1957, news of the [[Soviet Union]]'s launch of ''[[Sputnik 1]]'' reaches [[Homer Hickam]] in the [[mining community]] of [[Coalwood, West Virginia]], who is inspired to build his own rockets despite the skepticism of his friends and family, especially his father; John Hickam, who strictly wanted Homer to work in the mines.

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. When one of their rockets lands near John's office and nearly injures some workers, John reprimands Homer not to build rockets on his property again. The boys hike to the edge of the coal company's property, where they succeed with the help of the townsfolk, including the mine's machine shop manager, Ike Bykovsky, who is punished by John for helping the boys and sent to work in the mine.

The rocket launches begin attracting townsfolk. However, the boys abandon rocketry after they are accused by the police of starting a [[wildfire]] with a stray rocket and are arrested. In a [[mining accident]], John is injured and Bykovsky is killed, devastating Homer, who believed that it was his fault that Bykovsky died, however John later tells Homer that he offered Bykovsky a position in the machine shop but declined it because he was making more money in the mines. He drops out of high school to work in the mine and provide for his family while his father recovers.

Homer is inspired by Miss Riley to read a book on applied rocket science, learning to calculate the trajectory of a rocket. Using this, he and Quentin locate their missing rocket and prove it could not have caused the fire. 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. Homer tells his father he is returning to high school and no longer wants to work in the mine. The boys return to rocketry and win the school [[science fair]]. When the opportunity arises for one of them to participate in the National Science Fair in [[Indianapolis]], they elect Homer. The miner's union goes on strike against the coal company. With the mines set to close and resenting his father's pressures, Homer storms out of the house, vowing never to return.

At the National Science Fair, Homer's display is well-received. Overnight, someone steals his machined rocket part model – the [[de Laval nozzle]] – and his autographed picture of Dr. [[Wernher von Braun]]. Homer makes an urgent phone call home to his mother Elsie, who implores John to end the strike so that Mr. Bolden, Bykovsky's replacement, can use the machine shop to build a replacement nozzle. John relents when Elsie, fed up with his lack of support for their son, threatens to leave him. 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. He also shakes hands with [[Wernher von Braun|Dr. Wernher Von Braun]] himself, however Homer does not realize it was him until after Dr. Von Braun left.

He returns to Coalwood as a hero and visits Miss Riley, who is dying of [[Hodgkin lymphoma]]. 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. At the launch of their rocket, named for Miss Riley, almost all of Coalwood turns out to watch, including John, who never came to any of Homer's previous launches. John is given the honor of pushing the launch button. The ''Miss Riley'' reaches an altitude of {{convert|30000|ft}} – higher than the summit of [[Mount Everest]]. As the town looks to the skies, John puts his hand on Homer's shoulder and smiles, showing Homer that he is proud of him.

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]].