Initial concepts seem to work, albeit very slowly. The researchers calculated that they could move a few-ton object about 321 kilometers away in two to three months. So there is still a long way to go for a device that will be suitable for use during space flights. A real beam could be an invaluable tool for clearing the orbit of ever-increasing space debris.

expectations of technology

The researchers are experimenting with their design using a large, specialized vacuum chamber that simulates space conditions. Their favorite concept, the so-called “electrostatic tractor,” uses principles similar to those of rubbing it on your head and then sticking a balloon in your hair.

Theoretically, when a spacecraft is 15-30 meters away, it could use this device to fire a beam of electrons at a piece of space debris, causing a negative charge on the debris and creating a positive charge on the transport vehicle, slowly bringing them together. .

With this gravitational force, scraps can be attracted without actually touching them. We call it virtual rope,
– says Julian Hammerl, an aerospace engineer at the University of Boulder who participated in the research.

The space debris problem cannot be taken lightly. Space is already running out in orbit, where satellites can stay in a fixed position relative to Earth, an invaluable part of space for humanity. Additionally, the debris threatens to collide with operating vehicles and the ISS.

Today, the most practical way to overcome the problem is to gently push the pieces into the atmosphere (so that they burn there) so as not to remove them completely from orbit. Physical contact with them is dangerous, since the speed of movement of such particles can reach very large values. Therefore, using an automatic traction beam seems like a very attractive option.

In general, such beams can be a relatively inexpensive cleaning tool, since a ship equipped with one of them can move “dozens of objects in its lifetime.”