ORLANDO, Fla. — U.S. Space Command will, for the first time, invite representatives from commercial space companies to take part in classified wargames focused on sensitive national security scenarios, underscoring the increased integration between military and commercial space infrastructure.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said the initial exercise will examine how the United States would respond to the potential deployment of weapons of mass destruction in space, a scenario he described as “a future that none of us want to happen.”
Speaking Jan. 28 at the SpaceCom Space Mobility conference, Whiting said the idea for a commercially integrated tabletop exercise was driven by reports that Russia intends to field a nuclear weapon in orbit. “A nuclear detonation in outer space would cause devastating consequences for the United States, the world and the global economy,” he said.
Space Command already works closely with commercial operators because much of today’s space activity, and much of the infrastructure the military depends on, is owned and operated by private companies. Whiting said bringing those firms directly into classified planning discussions is a logical next step.
“We look forward to participation by some of these companies and others in our first ever commercially integrated classified tabletop exercise,” he said.
The exercises are set to begin in March and will be held quarterly with a select group of commercial partners. The first session, Whiting said, will focus specifically on “the threat of mass weapons of mass destruction in space … on thinking through weapons of mass destruction in space, if that were to happen.”
“We’ll have a representative body of civilian companies there that can help us with that thinking,” he added.
The prospect of a nuclear weapon in orbit touches on long-standing international legal restrictions. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around Earth, installing them on celestial bodies such as the moon, or stationing them in space in any other manner.
Analysts note that the treaty’s prohibition is narrower than it sometimes appears. It does not ban all weapons in space. Anti-satellite weapons, electronic warfare, cyber operations and other counterspace capabilities fall outside the WMD ban and have been developed for years under national military doctrines.
“While we wish that that would not happen, we’ve got to plan against the possibility, and we would do that in partnership with our commercial space companies because so much of the American economy is dependent on space,” he said. The upcoming exercise, he added, is “an opportunity for us to look at this future that none of us want to happen.”
Radiation, electromagnetic effects
A nuclear device deployed or detonated in space would clearly qualify as a weapon of mass destruction, and its deployment would violate existing international law. U.S. officials have warned that Moscow may be developing a space-based nuclear anti-satellite capability.
Public reporting and official statements suggest the concern is a device designed to detonate in space, producing intense radiation and electromagnetic effects that could disable or destroy large numbers of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Even without a blast over a terrestrial target, such a detonation would have indiscriminate and potentially long-lasting effects. It could damage civilian, commercial and military satellites belonging to many countries at once. A high-altitude nuclear explosion could also create artificial radiation belts that degrade satellites for months or years, effectively denying access to parts of space.
U.S. officials have said there is no evidence that an operational nuclear weapon has been deployed in space. Still, they have warned that development of such a capability would be destabilizing.
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