A team of intrepid explorers develop the first faster than light drive to take humanity to the stars. The only thing in their way is humanity itself.

I agree, that the second attempt is better, but maybe it would be worth expanding on the reasons for the governments and corporations wanting this technology. Are they trying to reach the stars because they have discovered some valuable minerals that are not available on earth and can make billions of dollars for these corporations and governments?

P.S. Let me clarify what I mean by stakes. Take the movie "The Martian". It starts out as a story of planetary exploration. Other than intellectual curiosity, nothing else is at stake. IOW: the initial situation is of no dramatic value; the story is certainly not worth spending $100 million to tell with big name stars and CGI.

Then a violent sandstorm sends the initial situation south. It suddenly become a matter of survival. The stakes are a matter of life and death..

What are the life and death stakes in this story?

What's are the stakes? Why MUST they figure out how to break the light speed barrier NOW? What is lost (materially not just ego gratification) if they fail? What's lost if they succeed but their technology is stolen?

And if everyone else wants to steal the technology, why does that represent an obstacle to achieving a break through? Why wouldn't everybody else want the inventor to succeed so they could just rip it the technology -- get their hands on it fast and cheap, not have to the the hard work of figuring it out for themselves?