What was supposed to be a somewhat light-hearted action/adventure movie turned into a marketing nightmare. SpaceCamp was originally scheduled to be released in early 1986 but on January 28 of that year the real-life space shuttle Challenger exploded 74 seconds after liftoff, claiming the lives of seven American astronauts. After the Challenger disaster the release was pushed back months. When it was finally sent to theaters, it grossed less than $10 million in the U.S. Like the Challenger accident, the malfunction in the film involved a solid rocket booster.
The interior of the Space Shuttle Atlantis was filmed in the Atlantis simulator at the real Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
The movie was partially filmed at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama; home to the first and last remaining Space Camp program.
According to Lea Thompson, because the numerous delays in filming the cast and crew jokingly wore T-shirts saying "SpaceCramp."