National Space Centre

The National Space Centre is a museum and educational resource covering the fields of space science and astronomy, along with a space research programme in partnership with the University of Leicester. It is located on the north side of the city in Belgrave, Leicester, England, next to the River Soar. Many of the exhibits, including upright rockets, are housed in a tower with minimal steel supports and a semi-transparent cladding of ETFE 'pillows'[1] which has become one of Leicester's most recognisable landmarks. The National Space Centre is a registered charity with a board of trustees.[2]

National Space Centre
National Space Centre, Leicester
Location of National Space Centre in Leicester
Former name
National Space Science Centre
Established30 June 2001 (2001-06-30)
LocationBelgrave, Leicester LE4 5NS
Coordinates52°39′13″N 01°07′56″W
TypeSpace (and aerospace) museum
Visitors330,000 (2016)
CuratorDan Kendall
ArchitectNicholas Grimshaw
Employees189
Public transit accessFirst Bus 54
WebsiteNational Space Centre
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History

The centre arose from a partnership between the University of Leicester's Space Research Centre and local government agencies.[3] The total project cost was £52m, £26m of which came from a Millennium Commission grant, and the rest from private sector sponsors.[4] It is run as an educational charity,[5] and offers science workshops for school children of all ages.

The National Space Centre currently has post-doctoral science researchers based at the University of Leicester's Space Research Centre (SRC) and the University of Nottingham's Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy (IESSG).

Architecture

The building was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw, and it opened to the public on 30 June 2001.[6] The tower is 42 m (138 ft) tall and claims to be the only place to house upright space rockets indoors.[6]

Building

The 7,360m2 scheme occupies a former storm water tank.[7] The main rocket tower is clad in inflated pillows made of ETFE – the same material used on the Eden Project domes.[8] This material is 1% of the weight of the equivalent amount of glass.[9] The building was described by the Guardian as "One of the most distinctive and intriguing new buildings in Britain"[10] The main building is a 7200m2 box built on a 14m grid steel frame, clad in a perforated metal skin that conceals the windows and louvres in the profiled steel cladding behind.[11] The roof of the main building is overlaid with gravel in three colours to form a crab nebulae design.[12]

Main exhibits

The Centre has on display one of only three known Soyuz spacecraft in the West (there is one in France at the Cité de l'espace and another one in the United States at the Smithsonian Institution as part of their Apollo-Soyuz Test Project display).

The Rocket Tower
Inside, Blue Streak and Thor (right)

The centre has six main galleries of exhibits and visitor activities covering space flight, astronomy and cosmology. The attraction also includes a Digistar 3 dome cinema and planetarium, a gift shop and a restaurant. The restaurant is situated beneath the two nozzles of the Blue Streak and PGM-17 Thor rockets.

Facilities

Digital visualisation

The Centre's own digital visualisation team, NSC Creative, make all the "fulldome" planetarium shows shown at the Centre. By 2011, NSC Creative fulldome shows are playing in over 220 planetaria in 27 countries worldwide.[6] These productions include the official International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) planetarium show "We are Astronomers" which was funded by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).[13]

Near Earth objects
Beagle 2

The failed Beagle 2 Mars spacecraft was controlled from the centre's Landing Operations Control Centre.[14] UK Government's official Near-Earth object (NEO) Information Centre[15] is also based at the centre.[16]

Events
The Soyuz 7K OK(A) spacecraft on display
  • Apollo program astronaut and moonwalker Buzz Aldrin visited the Space Centre in June 2005.[6]
  • The first Star Wars Day was held on 30 July 2005. Due to the popularity of this event, Star Wars weekend has been held annually, as of 2015.[17]
  • The centre hosted a celebration of 50 years of Doctor Who in November 2013.[18]
  • A Sci-Fi Weekend on the weekend beginning 17 June 2006 included a live-action experience similar to Alien War.
  • On 19 July 2006 NASA astronaut Brian Duffy visited and told people about his trip to space.
  • National Space Centre hosted a UK tour by the NASA STS-121 crew, including UK born astronaut Piers Sellers.[6] The crew spoke to MPs, industry leaders and school children about the UK Space Industry. Many of the children who met the crew said they were inspired to consider science and technology as a further education topic.

In 2007, the National Space Centre celebrated "50 Years in Space": the anniversary of the first satellite, Sputnik.

In 2013, scenes from the Indian film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 were filmed at the Space Centre.

See also

References
  1. "Grimshaw projects: National Space Centre, Leicester, UK". Grimshaw: Architecture, Planning, Industrial Design. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  2. "NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE - Charity 1078832". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. "National Space Centre celebrates 20 years in Leicester - News - University of Leicester". Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. "The National Space Centre: The countdown begins" (PDF). University of Leicester Bulletin. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. "Charity Commission for England and Wales: NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE - 1078832". Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  6. "National Space Centre in Leicester celebrates 10 years". BBC. 30 June 2011.
  7. "Nicholas Grimshaw's giant leap for Leicester". The Architects' Journal. 5 May 2001. p. 9.
  8. "Watch This Space". Building. 6 April 2001. pp. 24–17.
  9. "Nicholas Grimshaw's giant leap for Leicester". The Architects' Journal. 5 April 2001. p. 9.
  10. Glancey, Jonathan (5 March 2001). "We have lift-off". The Guardian. pp. G2 12-13.
  11. "Watch This Space". Building. 6 April 2001. pp. 24–27.
  12. "Space the final frontier for waterproofing". What's New in Building. February 2001. p. 5.
  13. "We Are Astronomers". IYA2009. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  14. Sims, Beagle 2 Mission Manager, M.R. (2004). "Beagle 2 Mars: Mission Report" (PDF). National Space Centre. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. "The Spaceguard Centre | The National Near Earth Objects Information Centre". nearearthobjects.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  16. Williams, Iwan P. (2006). "The UK Near Earth Object Information Centre (NEOIC)". International Astronomical Union, Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 236. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Godsall, David (18 June 2015). "National Space Centre's Star Wars weekend blasts off". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  18. "Doctor Who fans meet stars and villains at National Space Centre". Leicester Mercury. 16 November 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2013.

Video clips

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