The next US Defence Secretary says the country faces another Pearl Harbour-style attack but this time on its space satellites.
Donald Rumsfeld believes Nasa should take the threat of an attack on its satellite communications more seriously and that its interests in space should be protected.
The warnings are made in a report just published by a government commission he headed.
The report says: "If the US is to avoid a 'space Pearl Harbour,' it needs to take seriously the possibility of an attack on US space systems."
The 1941 Japanese attack on US naval forces in Hawaii outraged the US and drew it into World War II. The commission stops short of recommending a fifth armed service dedicated to space security.