What's New at PPLD!

Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, recounts his first launch in a small West Virginia coal town.

Building Rockets from PPLD TV on Vimeo.

William B. Scott, author of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009 selection Space Wars: The First Three Hours of World War III, will give presentation entitled The Power of Fiction to Shape Perception. Scott is a full-time author and consultant. He retired as the Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology, following a 22-year career with the international magazine. He also served as Senior National Editor in Washington, and as Avionics and Senior Engineering Editors in Los Angeles.

Refreshments will be served and admission is free.

When: Thursday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: University of the Rockies, Harvey House Auditorium, 555 E. Pikes Peak Ave.

PLEASE NOTE: This presentation has been cancelled.
Bob Fish, author of Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery, will discuss his book at Colorado College. The book details the naval recovery of astronauts that splashed down in the ocean upon returning to Earth and how that process evolved during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. It culminates with the story of the USS Hornet’s recovery of the Apollo 11 crew that famously became the first to reach the surface of the moon. Fish, a former Marine, has been Apollo Curator and Board of Trustees member at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California. This free event is part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009.

• When: Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m.
• Where: Colorado College, Gaylord Hall, 902 N. Cascade Ave.

There will be photo exhibits on loan from NASA on display at the East and Penrose Libraries for the month of October as part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009.

At East Library, Special Effects from Space contains dazzling views of the ever-changing surface of the Earth and its atmosphere. Penrose Library’s Art Gallery is housing America from Space, spectacular shots of this country from the unique perspective of outer space. Both collections contain captions to shed further light on these startling images. Be sure to check out both exhibits this month and experience a truly out-of-this-world visual journey.

Join us as David Silver, President of the Heinlein Society, shows an exclusive Walter Cronkite interview with Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, author of All Pikes Peaks Reads 2009 selection Have Space Suit – Will Travel. Mr. Silver will discuss Heinlein’s time in Colorado Springs and how the author intersected science with art.

• When: Wednesday, October 14 at 7 p.m.
• Where: Colorado College, Gaylord Hall (902 N. Cascade Ave.)

Elliot Pulham, President and CEO of the Space Foundation will speak at the Pikes Peak Community College Centennial Campus Atrium (5675 S. Academy Blvd.) on Wednesday, October 14 from noon – 2 p.m. There will also be an exhibit of a space shuttle suit.

On Thursday, October 15 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the PPCC Rampart Range Campus Library (11195 Highway 83 ), Rick W. Sturdevant, Air Force Space Command Deputy Directory of History, will present Space Flight in Fiction and Fact: the Popular Culture and Engineering Reality of Exploring Other Worlds and Benefiting Our Own. After the presentation, PPCC students and faculty member Dr. Stephen Collins will present a puppet show, In Space and Spaced Out: A Look at the Space Program. Refreshments will be provided.

These presentations are All Pikes Peak Reads 2009 events.

A hapless inventor (world-class clown Jim Jackson of the Manitou Arts Theater) dreams of traveling to space and sets out to build a rocket ship in A Nose for Space. The “Rube Goldberg” rocket Machine will be constructed on stage as the show explores all of the necessary and not so necessary items needed for space travel. Benjamin Pratt will provide lively space age music for this All Pikes Peak Reads 2009 program.

For audiences in grades K – 5, with scientific content about space, solar system, the moon, and astronauts.

• Sat., Sept. 26 at 1:30 p.m. – Ruth Holley Branch, 685 N. Murray Blvd.
• Sun., Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m. – Sand Creek Branch, 1821 S. Academy Blvd.
• Sat., Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. – Monument Branch, 1706 Lake Woodmoor Dr.
• Sun., Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. – East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.
• Sat., Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. – Cheyenne Mountain Branch, 1785 S. 8th St.
• Sun., Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. – Penrose Library, 20 N. Cascade Ave.

This program for tweens is presented by the Space Foundation as part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009. Students will design and build a lander similar to the new lunar lander, Altair. This design challenge will require students to build a lander that can land three astronauts safely on the lunar surface. Altair is the proposed Lunar lander that will land astronauts on the moon. It is being built by NASA as part of the Constellation program.

• When: Wed., Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.

This program for teens is presented by the Space Foundation as part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009. Students will design a vehicle similar to the LCROSS impactor, which was built and launched by NASA as part of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission to study the moon. Students will design and build a vehicle that will release an impactor into a simulated lunar surface.

• When: Wed., Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. – Cancelled due to inclement weather
• Where: East Teen Center at East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd.

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic hits warp speed, presenting the music from your favorite science fiction epics. Music from The Last Starfighter, Contact, Total Recall, and Stargate will make you feel like you are on a journey to other worlds.

Tickets, which range from $14 – 54, can be purchased online by clicking here. This show is part of All Pikes Peak Reads 2009.

• When: Sat., Oct. 17 at 8 p.m.
• Where: Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, 190 S. Cascade Ave.