"Tractor Beam Technology Used to Clean Up Space Junk"

Aerospace engineers led by Professor Hanspeter Schaub are working on electron beams that use attractive or repulsive electrostatic force to remove space debris from orbit, which could prevent Kessler Syndrome. Tractor beams would allow us to move debris and other objects out of the way without having to touch them directly. The team has been experimenting with a vacuum chamber to simulate a space environment and has shown that the beams could potentially pull an object weighing several tons about 200 miles in two to three months. The team is confident that they could be ready to send out the first electrostatic tractor in as little as five to ten years with the right funding.