Abstract
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester in the UK has been involved with space research since the 1960s, having instruments in space every year since 1965. Since those early days first building x-ray detectors for rockets to more recent x-ray telescopes such as XMM-Newton and Swift, Leicester has broadened its portfolio to include Earth Observation instruments, planetary exploration and several ground based spin-offs. The department is also closely involved with numerous outreach projects to schools and the public, including the National Space Centre based in Leicester and Space Academy. In this talk I will give an overview of the research that we do as well as some of the space related outreach we are involved with.
