“You want fries with that?” the giant McAstronaut seems to be saying.
The 13-ft tall fiberglass spaceman stands on a pedestal outside of the Golden Arches on NASA Parkway, near Space Center Houston, in Nassau Bay, Texas.
Positioned on a concrete pedestal, with a giant box of fries in his hand, he was created by Houston artist John Knott, of Bent Fabrication Studio, and is a replica of the original one Knott created way back in 1995, for the same McDonald’s, when it was at a different location, across the street further down NASA Road One, closer to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
The McAstronaut stood on top of the previous McDonald’s for 25 years and was removed or torn down when the business relocated in 2021. After moving to the new location in July 2022, Ken Kades, the restaurant’s operator, dug around and found the name of the artist who created the original and had him create an updated McAstronaut for the new location.
Knott, who is also a NASA contractor, designed the new McAstronaut wearing a NASA insignia spacesuit and reflective gold helmet visor and holding a giant carton of McDonald’s french fries in its signature red box.
Kades had a concrete pedestal built for the new permanent visitor, installed him on top, and built a small flagstone island around him for visitors to stand on to take out-of-this-world selfies and group photos with the restaurant’s new mascot.
The next time you are in the area, moonwalk on over for a visit and take a snap with this homage to Houston’s space history. No fries required.
Vitals
- 1320 E NASA Pkwy, Nassau Bay, TX 77058
- McAstronaut on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083831971152
Map to the Giant Astronaut Statue
Featured photo a cropped version of the photo via Bent Fabrication Studio on Instagram as embedded above
