U.S. officials and security researchers say outer space is rapidly becoming a contested military domain after Russian-linked hackers briefly hijacked a television satellite serving Ukraine during Russia’s 9 May Victory Day parade. The incident follows a 2022 Viasat breach and comes amid U.S. intelligence warnings that Moscow is developing a nuclear anti-satellite weapon capable of disabling thousands of low-Earth-orbit spacecraft in a single strike. Against that backdrop, acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on 5 August unveiled plans to deploy a small fission reactor on the Moon by 2030, describing reliable nuclear power as essential for extracting water ice, sustaining long-duration crews and securing key lunar locations before China or Russia establish a permanent foothold. About 12,000 satellites now underpin global communications, navigation and missile-warning networks, making them prime targets and heightening the strategic value of cislunar space. NASA engineers are assessing polar sites near suspected water-ice deposits while studying how to shield the reactor from abrasive lunar dust kicked up by landers. The U.S. Space Force, created in 2019 to protect orbital assets, says safeguarding space infrastructure—and future lunar installations—has become a core national-security priority as geopolitical rivalries extend beyond Earth’s atmosphere.