Astronaut to speak at space center

DOWNEY - Astronaut Al Worden, a command module pilot for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971, will speak and sign copies of his book at the Columbia Memorial Space Center on Aug. 27 from 1-3 p.m.Worden will give a talk relating to his moon-travel experiences, and then sign copies of his new book, "Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon." Admission to the event is free with purchase of Worden's book, otherwise, admission is $5. Space center members get in free. Worden spent six days orbiting the moon, including three days completely alone, the most isolated human in existence. During the return from the moon to Earth, he also conducted the first spacewalk in deep space, becoming the first human to see both the entire earth and moon simply by turning his head. The Apollo 15 flight capped an already-impressive career as an astronaut, including important work on the pioneering Apollo 9 and Apollo 12 missions, as well as the perilous flight of Apollo 13.

********** Published: August 11, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 17