The development comes at an integral time, with experts warning that there could soon be so many satellites orbiting Earth they block out the sun or that uncontrolled space junk could damage working spacecraft or even fall to the Earth and put human lives at risk.Įxperts warn dangerous space junk call plummet to Earth (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Read More Related Articles Instead of being used to trap spaceships, the tech would use electrostatic attraction to move dangerous space junk safely out of the Earth's orbit. READ MORE: Uranus could hold secret to finding life after northern lights-style aurora discoveryįor the latest news on all things Space, click here. But inspired by the dramatic scenes, scientists are now working on a real tractor beam, dubbed an electrostatic tractor. Some of the most tense moments in sci-fi films see the good guys' spaceship suddenly trapped by a tractor beam that reels them towards their enemies. Since the 1960s the futuristic tech has been a staple of the sci-fi genre, appearing in both the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. Smith in 1931, a tractor beam is a fictional device that uses a laser or invisible sound wave to move objects from a distance. Science fiction could soon become reality as scientists are developing a real-life tractor beam they hope could solve the space junk problem.įirst coined by Sci-Fi author E.E.
