Space technology companies joined their forces and established Lithuanian Space Technology Cluster. The founding treaty was signed on November 15 with Blackswan Space being among the founding members of the cluster.
The Minister of Economy, Ms. Aušrinė Armonaitė noted at the ceremony in Vilnius that Lithuania’s achievements in the field of space technologies were already visible worldwide. “The entire space community, not only NanoAvionics, Blackswan Space, Geomatrix and Elsis, are part of our national pride,” highlighting that “our scientist Simona Liukaityte-Suszczynska has worked on the camera onboard the Mars Rover Perseverance, and our laser specialists are significantly contributing to these technologies every year”.
Lithuania has recently become an associate member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and is developing its space industry that is primarily aimed at “people on earth”, but it is also striving for more, Armonaitė said, adding that the government is ready to provide financing for a space technology hub and other innovative space focused initiatives in the country.
Saulius Arelis, CEO of Visoriai Information Technology Park, said that Lithuania was “the undisputed leader in space technology development in the Baltic region” and Vilnius was among the world’s top five cities in small satellite manufacturing, thanks to NanoAvionics having a major presence here.
The Lithuanian space cluster’s members are already involved in joint projects and missions with NASA, the European Space Agency, Airbus Defence & Space, Thales Alenia Space, British Telecom and other well-known industry names.