National Space Centre 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 opened to the public on 30 June 2001.
Leicester 1969 as Leicester Polytechnic and achieved university status in 1992. It is also home to the National Space Centre off Abbey Lane, due in part to the University of Leicester being one of the few universities in the UK to specialise in space sciences. The city hosts annually a Caribbean Carnival and parade (the largest in the UK outside London), Diwali celebrations, the largest comedy festival in the UK Leicester Comedy Festival and a Pride Parade (Leicester Pride). Belgrave Road, not far from the city centre, is colloquially known as "The Golden Mile" because of the number of Jewellers. The