Leicester: we have lift-off

Leicester University's ambitious plans for a National Space Science Centre had lift-off this week with a Pounds 23-million Millennium Commission grant.

The organisers of the Pounds 46-million project, a joint venture between the university and the city council, must now raise a similar sum.

But, with more than Pounds 16 million in the kitty and promises of more to come, they have every confidence. The centre, which could be up and running within three years, will secure Leicester's standing in international space science, say the organisers.

It will boast the first NASA-backed Challenger learning centre outside the United States.