Are the first names of the Tracy boys based on actual U.S. astronauts?
Yes. Jeff Tracy’s sons were named after U.S. astronauts from the N.A.S.A. Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions: Scott Carpenter, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. and John Glenn. Gerry once wrote to the surviving astronauts with signed photos of their “Thunderbirds” counterparts, dryly stating, “Now you know why you became so famous.
