British astronaut Tim Peake will be on hand to declare Space Park Leicester officially open at a special ceremony next spring.
The first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station will attend Leicester's pioneering £100 million research, innovation and teaching hub for an official opening ceremony on Monday, March 14.
Developed by the University of Leicester in collaboration with local, national and international partners, the facility provides an inspirational base for space scientists, researchers and business minds to collaboratively work together from offices, shared laboratories, teaching facilities and co-working spaces.
READ MORE: New images show progress on £100m Space Park Leicester
In April, representatives from construction company Bowmer + Kirkland handed over the keys to the building, marking a significant milestone in the completion of the first phase of the project, which opened this summer.
The second phase of the development, also for collaborative work between industry and academia, will provide state-of-the-art laboratories and workshops focussed on Artificial Intelligence and robot-assisted satellite production.
Professor Richard Ambrosi, professor of space instrumentation and space nuclear power systems in the university's school of physics and astronomy, said: "We are absolutely delighted to announce that Tim Peake will join us at what will be a momentous celebration for Leicester, the East Midlands and the rest of the country.
"Being able to celebrate our magnificent facility and Leicester's six decades of experience in space and Earth observation science, as well as one of the largest groupings of space-related researchers of any institution in the 海角视频, together with Britain's very own astronaut, will mark the start of something special.
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"We are incredibly grateful to all of our partners for recognising the leading research taking place at the University of Leicester. Their support will enable us to develop innovative technologies and methods to transform our understanding of space and our own planet in the future."
Current European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake is passionate about inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.
He said: "Teamwork and communication are vital skills for any successful space mission – two key themes that resonate with Space Park Leicester, developed to provide a unique offering of collaborative work between university researchers and the private sector, working side by side to develop technologies and processes to be used in space.
"Space Park Leicester will highlight the exciting careers available within the space sector and help to train, educate and inspire our future generations."
Space Park Leicester is being led by the University of Leicester in partnership with Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).