The Astros and their former stadium, the Astrodome, were named in honor of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, which had opened its doors in Houston in 1963 (it was renamed Johnson Space Center in 1973).
At the Astrodome, Earthmen tended to the astroturf, Spacettes helped you find your seats, and the Astros played baseball.
With the country in the thick of the Space Race, the Astros and the Astrodome had a story that practically wrote itself. Everything that could be Astro-fied was, in ways great or small.
The grounds crew that smoothed the base paths during the 7th-inning stretch did so wearing astronaut suits -- and rather than "grounds crew" they were called the Earthmen. Ushers called Spacettes dressed in futuristic stewardess outfits.
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