- Homer Hickam: a gifted child who keenly feels what it is to be ostracized for being smart and "different." Throwing off "destiny," he chooses to follow his dreams to build and launch rockets through hard work and ingenuity. His dream leads him to college and eventually to NASA.
- Quentin Wilson: a truly gifted child, Quentin is the social "nerd," who you would not sit or commune with unless you wished to kiss your social life goodbye. Passionate about science, often alone, and driven to learn, Quentin is the flare that ignites Homer's flame and stands beside him in the acknowledgment of his dreams.
- John Hickam: Homer's father, John does not understand why his son does not seem to embrace his destiny as a coal miner. Though he loves his son, he exhibits his frustration and disappointment through anger and attempting to put an end to Homer's hobby. Despite their differences of views, John's love and pride in his son leads him to step back and allow his son to follow his dreams. John represents the challenging, at times unsupportive and misunderstanding, parent of the gifted whose pride is mingled with confusion, fear and disappointment.
- Miss Riley: Homer's teacher whose passion is teaching. Her unfailing belief in Homer, and her tireless facilitation of his dreams, drives and inspires Homer to turn daydreaming into reality. Her diagnosis with Hodgkin's Lymphoma propels Homer from the edge of losing his dream to a last determined effort to achieve it. As Homer put it, she was "the person who first inspired us."
- Roy Lee and Sherman: Homer's life-long friends who help him realize his dreams.
- Elsie Hickam: Homer's mother whose quiet determination and love for her son never ceases. She never fails to defend him and attempt to bring peace between father and son. Her greatest hope is that her son will see his dreams come true and escape the life of a coal-miner.
A whole host of other characters grace and inspire the story, from Bykovsky, the welder who first braved the loss of his job, and later the loss of his life to help Homer, to Bolin (another helpful welder), moonshiners, and a whole town of supporters who supplied the needs and support for the dreams of Homer Hickam and the Rocket Boys on the road to college and a brighter future.
