--- title: "Astronaut Analyzes That “Fast & Furious” Scene Where They Drive a Car Through Space" description: "To say that the 2021 action blockbuster \"F9: The Fast Saga,\" the ninth installment of the uber-popular \"Fast & Furious\" franchise, isn't the most scientifically sound movie set in space, would be a vast understatement. In the movie, two characters played by Tyrese Gibson and Christoper \"Ludacris\" Bridges construct a cobbled-together spacecraft out of a […]" date: "2023-10-14" modified: "2023-10-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronaut-analyzes-fast-furious-scene-drive-car-space" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "chris hadfield" - "hollywood" - "Space travel" - "the digest" --- # Astronaut Analyzes That “Fast & Furious” Scene Where They Drive a Car Through Space ![In a new video, former astronaut Chris Hadfield reviewed a "F9: The Fast Saga" scene in which two characters ride a car into space.]() *\Image: Warner Bros./NASA/Futurism\* ## Road Trip To say that the 2021 action blockbuster "F9: The Fast Saga," the ninth installment of the uber-popular "Fast & Furious" franchise, isn't the most scientifically sound movie to have been set in space would be a vast understatement. In the movie — spoilers ensue — two characters played by Tyrese Gibson and Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges launch a cobbled-together spacecraft made out of a 1984 Pontiac Fiero into space after being released from the back of a massive airplane mid-flight. Now, in a [new *Vanity Fair* video](), Canadian veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield reviewed the scene, pointing out some glaring discrepancies between the two characters' experiences of rocketing into space and his own. But that doesn't mean he wasn't entertained. "Like a billion other people on Earth, I really like the 'Fast & Furious' series," Hadfield said in the video. "It’s almost just purely a cartoon, but unavoidably fun to follow and watch it." https://youtu.be/BkoMHhu0P9Y ## Remix to Transmission Still, according to Hadfield, it wasn't the most accurate portrayal of space travel. "Their engines fire and now they’re rocketing into space, and like 30 seconds later they’re in orbit," he said. "It took me eight and a half minutes, so they really went fast. They were getting crushed." The former astronaut also pointed out how ridiculous it was to use a stick shift in a spacecraft. "I haven't driven a Fiero in a while, but I've flown some rocket ships and they don't have a transmission that you shift," Hadfield mused. ## Beautiful Curving Arc The idea of having the "Fast & Furious" franchise rocket into space started as a joke, with "F9" executive producer Josh Henson recalling in a [2021 *Vulture* article]() that an original pitch for the movie included having Vin Diesel's character racing the "original Moon rover" on the lunar surface. While the movie didn't end up going quite as far as that, director Justin Lin took the idea seriously and even "got on the phone with NASA scientists," as he told *Vulture*, "and I’m picking their brains about how to do it." Of course, with or without the involvement of real-life rocket scientists, the blockbuster movie primarily exists to entertain, and continuously demands its audience to suspend their disbelief even down on the Earth's surface. But according to Hadfield, the movie did get one thing right: the two space travelers' emotional reactions to seeing the Earth glide by far beneath them. "Suddenly, all the blue is below you, you’re out in the eternal blackness and all of life is laid out there in this beautiful curving arc of the world under them," Hadfield said in the video. "And I’m really pleased that they put that into the movie, and then portrayed it so well." **More on Hadfield:** *[Former Astronaut Details Quest to Grow Cannabinoids in Space]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()