It’s been a half century since man first stepped foot on the moon.
To celebrate the July 20 anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, several Westmoreland County libraries will host a free presentation highlighting the history of air and space travel while looking ahead to exciting developments on the horizon.
Robert Allison of the Pittsburgh Aeronautics Institute will present “Aviation Now and The Future of Space” at 6 p.m. Thursday at Adams Memorial Library, 1112 Ligonier St., Latrobe. Registration is required by stopping at the adult circulation desk or by calling 724-537-1972.
“I’ll be starting out with early aviation, touching on where we are, where we’re going and things that we’re seeing that are likely going to make an impact,” said Allison, who is an admissions representative for the institute.
“The biggest thing that is making the whole space industry more financially viable is the reusable launch system,” Allison said. He cited the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets that have been undergoing tests, noting such rockets can be rebuilt between missions to save tens of millions of dollars per flight.
“Before, they would end up at the bottom of the ocean,” he said.
Allison said he’s confident space explorers soon will return to the moon and is optimistic space tourism and mining of asteroids will take off as well.
“We need to tap space,” he said. “There are platinum materials in asteroids that we need on Earth.”
Allison will present his program at the following libraries:
• Penn Area Library, 6:30 p.m. June 10, 2001 Municipal Court, Harrison City;
• Jeannette Public Library, 6 p.m. June 13, 500 Magee Ave.;
• Scottdale Public Library, 1 p.m. June 24, 106 Spring St.;
• Delmont Public Library, 7 p.m. June 24, 77 Greensburg St.;
• Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, 6 p.m. July 8, 237 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg;
• Rostraver Public Library, 1 p.m. July 11, 700 Plaza Drive, Belle Vernon;
• Manor Public Library, 7 p.m. July 15, 44 Main St., Suite 500;
• Mt. Pleasant Public Library, 6 p.m. July 22, 120 S. Church St.
Visit the Westmoreland Library Network at wlnoline.org for more information about upcoming events.
