Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) is the name of the project that NATO is working on, and it will include the involvement of 16 ally states in addition to Sweden and Finland. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which the United States heads, announced on Wednesday that it would launch the largest space project in the history of the alliance to strengthen its military operations, surveillance, and information collection.

 This project will be known as Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS), and it will involve the participation of 16 NATO allies in addition to Sweden and Finland. Sweden and Finland have been yearning for membership in the bloc ever since Russia's "special military operation" was launched on Ukraine in the previous year.

The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey are the countries that are participating in this APSS initiative.

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As stated in an official statement released by NATO, the APSS space initiative will form a satellite constellation that will be given the name "Aquila." This constellation will be comprised of governmental and business satellites. 

Its purpose will be to make better use of space, improve the gathering of military intelligence, and support other operations. In addition, it will be used to improve navigation, communications, and the detection of missile launches and make the expansion of Europe's space sector easier. 

The constellation is anticipated to help reduce operating expenses while simultaneously streamlining data collection, the exchange of data among NATO Allies, and the analysis of data by the NATO command structure.

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An official statement by NATO's Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said, "This initiative is also a fantastic example of civil-military collaboration, contributing a tremendous resource to our information toolkit." The quote was included in an official release.

To yet, Luxembourg has given 16.5 million euros to the project to establish its foundation, and in the future, more nations will pool their resources to expand it further.

Because of the renewed hostility shown by Russia in response to NATO's eastward expansion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is showing signs of heightened activity.

This was one of the reasons why Russia invaded Ukraine, a move that threw Finland & Sweden into a state of terror and made them eager to join NATO. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization states that an assault on one member country is considered a strike on the whole alliance.

 Both of these nations thought that joining the alliance formed during the Soviet period would shield countries from the Russian military. 

Since Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, gaining membership in NATO is much more pressing for the country, given that it would be on the first lines of defense in the case of an assault on either country. 

Nevertheless, their membership is being obstructed by Turkey, which asserts that both countries sponsor terrorist organizations that are active against it and hence should not be allowed to join.