After accidentally getting launched into space, a sergeant suffers from a personality change and a look-alike replacement must stand in for him at his wedding.

U. S. Air Force Sgt. O. K. Deadhead, stationed at Smedley Missile Base, accidentally explodes a rocket at a military parade, and Gen. Rufus Fogg sends him to the guardhouse. Under the guidance of a hardened criminal who shares his cell, the mild-mannered Deadhead escapes the stockade and takes refuge in a rocket; and he is accidentally launched into space along with a chimpanzee. Air Force officers retrieve the rocket and tell Deadhead that they will make him a public hero if he will keep the blunder secret. The ride in space has altered the sergeant's personality, however, and he becomes a power-mad girl-chaser who insists upon exposing the mistake to the press. To protect his reputation, General Fogg imprisons Deadhead, despite the sergeant's plans to marry Col. Lucy Turner the same day. Under Fogg's orders, Lieutenant Kinsey and other officers arrange for Sergeant Donovan, Deadhead's double, to pose as Deadhead for the wedding ceremony and the honeymoon. Deadhead escapes from the guardhouse and takes his rightful place at the honeymoon hotel. He reverts to his original personality and claims his bride.