Professor Greg Autry has warned of the "aggressive" militarisation of the space race, claiming Russia and China are making swift progress.
Appearing on GBN America, Autry said that space and the military "have been hand in hand all along".
GBNA host Patrick Christys admitted that as an "ordinary citizen of the world, it terrifies me" that the space race is becoming militarised by China and Russia.
Autry explained: "I want to be careful about this word militarisation. Who went to space first? The Germans did in 1942. So it was militarised from day one.
"When the Russians launched Sputnik in '57, it was on an ICBM. All the first American rockets, including the ones that sent up our first astronauts, were modified intercontinental ballistic missiles."
Detailing the progression from Putin's Russian military amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Autry revealed that Putin is "preparing to deploy" nuclear weapons.
Autry told GBNA: "China and Russia are moving aggressively. Russia in particular appears to be preparing to deploy nuclear weapons in space that will be designed to create electromagnetic pulse effects to destroy other nation satellites.
"This is a serious concern."
Autry also warned global governments not to "make a mistake" in space, and the world "needs the military advantage" in space, "whether we like it or not".
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Autry told Patrick: "The thing to make sure is that that we don't make a mistake in space and that, frankly, countries that believe in the rule of law and the values of the enlightenment to control space so that we don't have XI Jinping in space.
"So we've got to have the military advantage there, whether we like it or not."
Patrick then asked the professor if he believes that "aliens exist", as speculation continues surrounding the existence of extra terrestrial life in space.
Autry admitted: "I like to tell folks that I was the White House liaison at NASA. So you would think that if they did, I would know.
"And I'm going to tell you now, there are no intelligent aliens that have come to the Earth to visit us.
"We do think, though, and most scientists believe, that we'll find a solar system and a galaxy full of life.
"Probably not much of it is intelligent, but I believe somewhere that they are out there, they're not wasting their time spending the massive energy to come to the earth, only to hang outside of US military bases and and hide badly. That doesn't seem realistic."