"We had testimony that said NASA will not beat China to the Moon," Duffy remarked during an all-hands meeting with NASA employees. "That was shade thrown on all of NASA. I heard it, and I gotta tell you what, maybe I am competitive, I was angry about it. I can tell you what, I'll be damned if that is the story that we write. We are going to beat the Chinese to the Moon."
Like the making of the movie itself, Rocketship X-M doesn't waste any time, thrusting its heroes into deep space just minutes after their pioneering mission to the Moon is announced.