The story follows Thad Roberts dreaming of doing great things such as becoming an astronaut ; his love interest Rebecca ; and his accomplices Sandra and Gordon McWhorter .
Thad Roberts is a University of Utah student and high - achieving NASA co-op in Houston .
The story follows Thad Roberts , a University of Utah student and high - achieving NASA co-op in Houston , dreaming of doing great things such as becoming an astronaut ; his love interest Rebecca ; and his accomplices Sandra and Gordon McWhorter .