Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is getting a cosmic upgrade for its upcoming Space Days event, taking place on Tuesday May 6 and coinciding with the Baltic Military Summit. All around the city’s iconic Old Town district, signs are pointing skyward to where the International Space Station orbits overhead just 408 kilometers away.
The signs, styled to resemble typical street signs, are a playful and eye-catching initiative led by Go Vilnius, the city’s official tourism and business development agency. They aim to spark curiosity and highlight Vilnius’s enthusiastic embrace of space exploration and big ideas. And as a bonus, there wil actuallyl be several opportunities to spot the ISS flying over Vilnius during the Space Days event—times listed here!
According to Dovilė Aleksandravičienė, the agency’s CEO, the signs symbolize Vilnius’s support for ambitious projects and its growing involvement in the space sector. “Vilnius is a city that welcomes open minds and bold ideas,” says Aleksandravičienė. “Whether you’re an artist, a technologist, or just someone looking to try something new, you’ll find space for your ambition here. We want to show our residents and our visitors that aiming high is not just encouraged—it’s part of who we are.”
Vilnius’s record in space technology started back in 2014, when Lithuania launched its first satellites, LituanicaSAT-1 and LitSat-1, from the International Space Station. The ambitious leap rallied both government and private-sector support, setting off a surge of innovation that still powers the sector today. NanoAvionics, a small satellite mission provider founded in Vilnius after that first mission, now leads in small satellite development and supports more than 120 satellite missions worldwide.
Photo: Marius Bairakas
With over 30 companies already active, Lithuania’s space sector is one of Europe’s fastest-growing, and that number is expected to double within the next five years. The city’s hosting of the European Space Agency’s business incubator underscores its status as a launch point for up-and-coming space startups. As Dovilė Aleksandravičienė from Go Vilnius puts it, “Vilnius attracts people with ideas and the drive to see them through. From satellite tech to life sciences, what unites teams here is a willingness to reach further.”
Laurynas Mačiulis, co-founder and CEO of Astrolight, a Vilnius-based tech firm that develops Earth-to-satellite communications through high-speed laser links, points to a key moment, more than a decade ago, that boosted Vilnius’s space-ward ambitions: “The launch of Lithuania’s first satellites in 2014 really broke the inertia holding our industry in place. After that, innovators and the government got on board, and the momentum hasn’t let up. Vilnius has proved itself a mature and active player in Europe’s space sector.”
Vilnius’s approach to space innovation—combining creativity with technical progress—has turned the city into a meeting point for people with ambitions that reach beyond their field. As Space Days returns, both the signs pointing skyward and the city itself serve as a reminder that progress often starts with a willingness to try something unexpected.
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