National Space Centre Space": the anniversary of the first satellite, Sputnik. 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 the city of 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' which has become one of Leicester's most recognisable landmarks. The building was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw, and it
National Space Centre 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. 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). The failed Beagle 2 Mars spacecraft was controlled from the centre's Landing Operations Control Centre. UK Government's official Near-Earth object (NEO) Information Centre is also based at the centre. In 2007, the National Space Centre celebrated "50 Years in