The National Space Centre is the UK’s largest visitor attraction dedicated to space and space exploration, welcoming around a quarter of a million visitors each year since its opening in June 2001.

The National Space Centre is the idea of the University of Leicester, with support from Leicester City Council.  It was the subject of joint bid to the Millennium Commission as a Landmark Millennium Project for the East Midlands.

Since then the centre has hosted an amazing variety of events raging from visits from legendary astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin, Helen Sharman, Michael Foale, and Piers Sellars to various events such as Star Wars and Doctor Who.

The National Space Centre continues to evolve through the development of new galleries, Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium shows and experiences created for a diverse audience.

The National Space Centre is a registered charity (charity no: 1078832) and not- for-profit organization in reciept of no continuous government funding. Instead it relies on ticket sales and corporate services, with any shortfall being covered by specific grants for educational projects. As a visitor you can help support our charitable objectives by donating to Gift Aid when you purchase your ticket. For more details about gift aid click here.

The centre also runs an award scheme setup to help disadvantaged groups of children and young people to visit the centre and access its facilities and educational benefits.