We were disappointed to find that in this day and age there were no automatic doors on what is really a space-age building

Jean Adcock

The concerns about access have been expressed by Mosaic, a group representing disabled people in Leicester.

Chairwoman Jean Adcock said it would be a shame if problems getting into the Space Centre discouraged some visitors.

"We were disappointed to find that in this day and age there were no automatic doors on what is really a space-age building.

'Disability aware'

"However, inside, a lot of thought has gone into making the exhibits accessible and the staff are very disability aware."

A spokeswoman for the centre said the ramp had been built according to regulations but improvements would be made if possible.

The centre took four years to create

One suggestion has been creating places where people can stop for a rest on the way up.

The centre has five main galleries which contain innovative displays and interactive exhibits that show the visitor what it would be like to go into outer space and the universe beyond.

The centrepiece of the exhibits is the huge, six-storey, tower that contains two rockets.

Visitors can stand beneath their nozzles and peer up into the rocket motors or take an elevator along them looking at the fuel tanks, the electronics bays and the docking collars between stages.

There is a full-scale walk-through of part of the International Space Station as well as a sit-in Mercury capsule.