James Porter did not want to have to send out emails to 23 schools telling them their students wouldn’t be launching off on a space mission this year. But with high demand and construction that cut off a few weeks of opportunities, the Christa McAuliffe Space Center at Central Elementary School in Pleasant Grove was booked.

“This has been a rough year,” said Porter, the space center’s director.

That’s about to change.

The space center and Central Elementary School are in the process of being rebuilt as the Alpine School District continues to fundraise for about $4 million for a new space center. The new school facility will see students this fall. Porter expects the new space center will be open in time for summer camps.

When complete, the center will be able to see 120 people a day, up from its current capacity of 80.

More than 400,000 students have been through the space center and its simulated space missions since it opened in 1990. Students travel from across the state for field trips to the center, which is completely booked every year. Private and business groups also use the center.

Its simulators test guests on different curriculum topics, put quick decision making to the test and encourage teamwork and leadership skills.

Fundraising efforts began about a year and a half ago as the space center started with a goal of $800,000 in order to increase its capacity and add a permanent planetarium dome.

Then, Porter said, more people began getting behind the idea and seeing the potential of what the planetarium could become. The center, with the district’s backing, decided to go forward with a $4 million goal.

The Alpine School District has raised about $3.2 million in cash or other commitments for the project so far, according to Kimberly Bird, a spokeswoman for the district. The district has grant applications out and meetings scheduled with potential business donors in order to fund the final amount.

“I think we have a high confidence level we will reach it sometime this year,” Bird said.

Donations have included $1 million from the Woodbury Corporation, $100,000 from doTerra, $25,000 from Facebook, $50,000 from Tyson Foods and $1 million from the Edward St. John Foundation, which is located out of Baltimore and whose parent company, St. John Properties, owns facilities in Utah County.

When finished, Bird said the district believes it will have the only school in the state with a planetarium.

Sixth grade students in the district visit the planetarium on field trips. Bird said the district will ask in meetings who has been to it, and every person in attendance will raise their hand.

“It is a memory that you remember,” Bird said.

Bird said the district is appreciative to its donors, which have included both individuals and businesses.

Central Elementary School was one of the district’s oldest buildings. With a new facility that includes a wing just for the space center, Bird said the school will become a 21st century space.

From the outside, it currently isn’t obvious that the school has a space center. The new building will make the facility more visible.

“We have always had the experience where people walk into the school confused that this is where they are supposed to be,” Porter said. “Then they step through the door and that immersiveness happens. We are going to start getting people excited when they pull into the parking lot.”

The permanent planetarium dome will be 40 feet, making it the second-largest planetarium dome in Utah, behind the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City, with a 4k resolution screen, allowing audiences to pick out small details. The planetarium will also include about 70 seats that tilt backward to make the viewing experience more comfortable for guests.

The new center will also include updates to simulator technology to create a better learning experience for students. Porter said the prior center had limitations.

“I am excited for schools to come and put their students in that immersive nature of the planetarium and see things from a different perspective,” he said.

But what gets Porter the most excited is the ability to access up-to-date information and immediately be able to provide new content to guests. He said the old system didn’t allow for that, but that the new one will allow for the planetarium to offer monthly new information about space.

He anticipates the center will be able to provide more community events and is looking at doing regular planetarium shows on the weekends. Those community programs, Porter said, help to fund the center and keep the cost of field trips low.

The rebuild of Central Elementary School is being funded through the Alpine School District’s 2016 bond. As talks about the rebuild started, it was always the goal for the space center to remain connected to the school.

Porter said the center provides opportunities for people to learn about space and keeps an educational experience in the community. While the Clark Planetarium is in Salt Lake City and Brigham Young University has a planetarium in Provo, Porter said not everyone is able to make it to one of those two locations.

“This one, we are literally down the street in a school, and it’s very welcoming,” Porter said.