For years, military leaders warned that space was becoming a contested domain. In the spring of 2026, U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) began preparing for what that reality might look like.
In March, the command assembled more than 170 representatives from government agencies, allied nations, and 62 commercial space companies for the inaugural Apollo Insight Commercial Integration exercise, a classified tabletop war game designed to examine one of the most alarming scenarios facing national security planners: a nuclear weapon detonated in orbit.
The exercise, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the home of USSPACECOM, brought together military officers, intelligence officials, industry executives and technical experts. They aimed to assess how the United States, its allies and partners might respond if a nuclear anti-satellite weapon were deployed in space, crippling the orbital infrastructure that underpins modern military operations, global communications, navigation systems and large segments of the world economy.
The scenario was hypothetical, but military officials say the threat is real.
“Now, of course, that’s a development we do not want to see come to fruition, but reporting indicates that Russia plans to launch such a weapon, and that has forced us to prepare,” Gen. Stephen Whiting, USSPACECOM commander, said in April 2026 during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The exercise marked the beginning of a quarterly series of Apollo Insight war games that aim to strengthen coordination among military organizations, allied governments and the private sector. Future exercises will explore orbital maneuver warfare, proliferated satellite constellations and integrated missile defense. Together they reflect a broader shift inside the Pentagon, where space is viewed not simply as a support function for operations on Earth but as a warfighting domain in its own right.
For much of the Space Age, satellites were viewed as enablers of terrestrial operations. They provided communications, intelligence, missile warning, and navigation capabilities. They were rarely discussed as subject to conflict. Today, that assumption is fading as future wars promise to involve direct attacks against orbital infrastructure and to shape events on Earth, hundreds of kilometers away.
Much of the concern stems from the growing sophistication of the counterspace programs developed by Russia and China. U.S. officials have spent the past two years warning about intelligence that indicates Russia has explored a nuclear anti-satellite capability capable of disrupting large portions of low Earth orbit. Moscow has denied the allegations, but defense officials continue to treat the possibility seriously because of the unprecedented consequences such a weapon could create. An orbital nuclear weapon would also violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The treaty’s parties, including China, Russia and the U.S., pledged not to “place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.”
The concern is not limited to the immediate effects of a nuclear explosion. Defense analysts have warned that a detonation in orbit could destroy satellites directly while dramatically increasing radiation levels across space. Publications such as the March 2025 RAND Corp. study, “The Effects of High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions on Non-Military Satellites,” theorize that some satellites would be destroyed instantly, while others could fail days, weeks, or months later as elevated radiation gradually damages their electronics. The effects could linger long after the initial blast, threatening military and civilian spacecraft alike and disrupting services on which modern societies depend.
This possibility has received growing attention inside the national security community. U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged concerns that Russia may seek to place a nuclear device in orbit, a move that would violate the Outer Space Treaty and fundamentally alter the strategic balance in space. While there is no indication such a weapon has been deployed, military leaders argue that preparing for the possibility is prudent.
Apollo Insight was designed to do exactly that. The exercise attracted a broad coalition of participants. Along with representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were officials from NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and dozens of commercial firms whose systems have become deeply embedded in national security operations. The government relies more and more on private industry for satellite communications, launch services, remote sensing, space domain awareness and emerging on-orbit servicing capabilities.
“We had a very high request to attend from USSPACECOM’s Commercial Mission Partners with 62 companies and 175 people attending, including six CEOs, nine vice presidents and 31 directors from companies across the space enterprise,” U.S. Navy Cmdr. Heather Thomas, USSPACECOM lead for commercial integration, said in a statement about the event.
The prominence of commercial participation reflects lessons from recent conflicts, including the war in Ukraine. Commercial satellite communications networks, imagery providers, and geospatial intelligence firms became critical contributors to military operations, demonstrating how private-sector capabilities can influence events on the battlefield. The experience reinforced a conclusion shared throughout the Pentagon: Future conflicts will rely on commercial infrastructure operating alongside military assets.
“I say often that I think the U.S. commercial space industry is a massive advantage for us in the United States,” Whiting said during a presentation sponsored by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in May 2026. “Just look at the investment levels, the innovation, the speed at which they’re delivering capability, and we absolutely have to be able to leverage that capability.”
Whiting has called 2026 the “Year of Integration” for USSPACECOM, an effort to deepen cooperation among military organizations, allies, and commercial operators. Apollo Insight is one of the most visible manifestations of this strategy. The exercise was about identifying threats, understanding how government and industry would work together under crisis conditions, and seeing where gaps in coordination might emerge.
“These partnerships are not symbolic … they accelerate innovation, expand warfighting capacity, and increase operational tempo that government alone cannot achieve,” Whiting told the Space Symposium.
Participants said the inaugural exercise moved beyond theoretical discussion. Jay Santee, general manager at Aerospace Corp. and a retired U.S. Air Force major general, said attendees focused on practical approaches to deterrence and mitigation.
“U.S. Space Command shared briefings on the scenario for this war game that discussed potential threats and impacts, and mitigation approaches,” Santee said, according to a USSPACECOM report. “I was very pleased with the participants’ engagement. They shared innovation, courses of action, and new and interesting ideas on how to deter the use of nuclear detonation in space.”
Integration,” a time to deepen cooperation among military organizations, allies and commercial
operators. [SPACE FOUNDATION]
The event highlighted a challenge extending beyond technology. In a crisis, governments may know which commercial capabilities they need and where those capabilities reside, yet legal authorities, contractual mechanisms, and decision-making processes can delay their deployment. Several analysts who have examined Apollo Insight argue that one of the most important lessons involves operational coordination rather than hardware. The ability to integrate commercial capabilities rapidly into military operations could prove just as important as technologies.
The first Apollo Insight exercise focused on perhaps the most extreme scenario USSPACECOM envisions. Future exercises will address another challenge that military leaders view as fundamental to the future of warfare in orbit — maneuver.
“A satellite which is locked in a predictable orbit is fighting from a fixed position, and it’s a target,” Whiting said during the Space Symposium. “It’s a known position on a map waiting to be bypassed or neutralized.”
“In space we must perform, survive and gain positional advantage,” he added. “We want innovation that gives us maneuverability, endurability and survivability, because maneuver warfare demands rapid, focused and unexpected actions that shatter the enemy’s cohesion.”
The work remains in its early stages. Officials acknowledge that a formal doctrine is likely years away. Yet USSPACECOM leaders increasingly view maneuvering as one of the most important concepts of military operations in space. Future Apollo Insight exercises are expected to test these ideas and help define how military and commercial operators might function in a more dynamic orbital environment.
Whiting has challenged what he sees as lingering assumptions carried over from an earlier era, when space was seen as a sanctuary from potential conflict.
“If we fail to adjust our mindset, if we cling to the myth that space is somehow ‘different,’ we risk falling behind our opponents who have already made that adjustment,” he warned at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida, in December 2025.
The warning has become the organizing principle behind Apollo Insight. Satellites that support military operations enable financial transactions, transportation networks, emergency services, weather forecasting, and countless everyday activities that most people rarely associate with space. Their importance has grown steadily, creating new vulnerabilities that military planners believe can no longer be ignored.
Chief Master Sgt. Jacob Simmons, USSPACECOM senior enlisted leader, captured the threat in opening remarks at Apollo Insight. “Space is no longer a supporting supplement,” he said. “It is a central system woven into the web of our modern life. From markets to medicine, from agriculture to aviation, from navigation to notification, we are all synchronized with space.”
Exercises like Apollo Insight are vital for USSPACECOM and private industry, Simmons said. “If and when space is struck down, all of society is struck down. This is not only our heavenly fight but also our home fight, and it is humanity’s fight.”