Last week, NATO unveiled its 2026 cohort—the largest yet. NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) will welcome 150 selected innovators starting in January, 2026 to help navigate the region’s ten most pressing challenges.
One of these is resilient space operations. NATO has acknowledged significant gaps in orbital surveillance and situational awareness to protect against potential threats, such as space debris and energetic particles blasted from the sun, as well as adversary threats.
The pressure is rising to improve space operations as Earth’s orbit becomes increasingly congested, and the situation is now reaching a ‘breaking point’. Experts warn that the risk of a catastrophic satellite collision could now happen in as little as 2.8 days—a sharp decrease from 2018’s 121-day estimate.
An overcrowded orbit poses multiple disasters for all industries, not to mention defence. Communications and weather forecasting come to a screeching halt, plunging logistics and shipping into chaos, leaving countless communities in the lurch. Collisions in space can bring life on Earth to a screeching halt.
Space is now becoming ‘a domain of warfare,’ one senior NATO official commented at last month’s CyberSat conference. Both the UK and Germany have accused Russia and China of threatening their satellites, citing instances of stalking and jamming. These threats should not be underestimated: sabotaged satellite communication impacts military operations and civil aviation, raising the risk of collisions and attacks across NATO member states. Commercial space providers could soon find themselves on the frontlines.
The need to extend innovation beyond Earth’s surface and into its orbit is clear. Governments are thus turning to startups that specialize in technological innovation to help close these gaps.
Specifically, the EU has cited the impending importance of both improving connectivity between defence and deep tech communities, as well as accelerating the integration of advanced technologies into the military capabilities of EU Member States.
Off the back of this political and strategic outlook, it comes as no surprise that NATO’s DIANA is looking to enhance operational space-surveillance capability. As the situation currently stands, NATO heavily relies on external datasets from volunteering allies and commercial providers.
To achieve the much-needed agility and speed of its space defence capabilities and keep pace with China and Russia’s advancements, NATO must become self-sufficient. The ongoing fragmented data ecosystem makes NATO uniquely vulnerable to satellite jeopardization, whether from orbital objects or adversaries. That next year’s cohort is DIANA’s largest yet is no coincidence, but a critical undertaking that will solidify the region’s defence future.
According to Ingo Waldmann, CTO and Co-Founder of Spaceflux, one of the selected members of the 2026 cohort, this is a validation that space domain awareness needs to be transformed from reactive to proactive.
Image Source: Spaceflux via LinkedIn
The Spaceflux Sentinel system addresses one of the most pressing challenges NATO and allied nations face today: detecting and responding to threats in an increasingly congested and contested space environment—before they materialize. By combining cutting-edge AI with operational sensor networks, Spaceflux provides commanders and satellite operators with the strategic foresight they need to protect critical space assets.
Cutting-edge innovations from industry providers are the key stepping stone for NATO to level up its defence strategy and coordination across the region. The Alliance is gearing up for a new wave of risks and opportunities, and technology is at the forefront of ensuring they achieve that.
Featured image: NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) announces its selection of 150 pioneering companies from 24 NATO countries to participate in the 2026 Challenge Programme.
Image Source: NATO DIANA.
Disclosure: This article mentions clients of an Espacio portfolio company.
