Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.
In science fiction films, nothing raises tension quite like the good guys’ spaceship getting caught in an invisible tractor beam that allows the baddies to slowly reel them in. But what was once only a sci-fi staple could soon become a reality.
This real-life tractor beam wouldn’t suck in helpless starship pilots, however. Instead, it would use electrostatic attraction to nudge hazardous space junk into a safer Earth orbit where it cannot smash into working spacecraft.
Sci-Fi Inspired Tractor Beams Are Real, and Could Solve a Major Space Junk Problem