Lithuania: a space hub on the rise
Wednesday 2 November we received a visit from the vice-minister of Lithuania Ieva Valeškaitė, organised by Celestia STS. Celestia STS is based on NL Space Campus and is a partner for the future Small Antenna Test Facility that will be built on campus. The visit was attended by NSO, SBIC Noordwijk, ESA, and the Province of Zuid-Holland. Lithuania is a relatively small country with less than 3 million citizens, but it has great ambitions to grow its space industry in the next few years. This year, an ESA BIC location will open in Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius, which is the main reason they came to visit SBIC Noordwijk: to learn about the Dutch space region, and to learn from our experience and successes.
Big potential
Lithuania has 200.000 high-tech professionals, of which 43% are STEM-related. The country invests a lot in education and has a world-leading production of short-pulse lasers. Half of the companies in Lithuania’s space industry has a growth rate of a whopping 50%, despite the fact that the country became an ESA member in 2021 and its space policy is only two years old. Almost all space related activities and businesses are located in and around Vilnius, which is where the space hub will be situated. Furthermore, the country’s ambitions aren’t limited to the space industry by any means. Putting Lithuania on the map as a serious exporter of sustainable energy through wind turbines and hydrogen is also on the agenda.
Lithuania at The Space Week 2023
Even though Lithuania has only just started with their space industry, its ambitions are high and its openness and directness to collaborate and learn from other space hubs and communities are inspiring. By opening an ESA BIC programme this year, Lithuania’s space hub will be directly joining our space community. With their ambitions to collaborate cross-sectoral and across Europe, they have expressed their interest to join The Space Week 2023 to network and meet more of the Dutch space industry.
Do you want to connect with the space industry in Lithuania? Let us know and we’ll help you get in touch!
