Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs

The Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center ( VIRAC, Latvian Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs ) is a research institute for radio astronomy in Irbene, Latvia.

In the complex there is a former military purpose establishment of the Soviet Union. It is located in a former military area, about 30 kilometers north of Ventspils on the Baltic coast. Since the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1994, the Latvian Academy of Sciences used the system for research purposes. This, however, had to be carried out extensive repairs to remedy intentional destruction.

In its current configuration, the radio telescope in the main consists of two fully steerable parabolic antennas with 32 or 16 meters in diameter, one of which counts in terms of the technical parameters of the most precise in Northern Europe.