So, enter the tractor beam. ... In that chamber, they can put their idea to work by shooting small blocks representing space debris with beams of electrons.

One day, small spacecraft could fly around Earth, using devices called electron beams to remove hulking, derelict spacecraft from orbit without ever having to touch. It may sound like science fiction, ...

Space junk is becoming a major problem for the space exploration industry. (Image credit: CU Boulder) While tractor beams may sound like a pipe dream, experts are optimistic about the technology.

Human technology is crossing another threshold. Tractor beams have been common in science fiction for decades. Now a team of researchers is working on a real-life tractor beam that could help us with ...

In theory, at a distance of some 50 to 90 feet away, a spaceship could use the device to shoot a beam of electrons at a hunk of space junk, inducing a negative charge in the debris while producing ...

The idea of a solar beam that transmits energy from space to Earth was first proposed in 1968 by Peter Glaser, an engineer working with NASA during the Apollo era. At the time, it was considered ...

Is the Sacramento Kings’ beam visible from space? It’s possible. “Theoretically, the beam can be seen from space ... but it’s complex,” said Suk, an architectural lighting expert.

The future of space exploration. Cui, who joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the fall, focuses ...

Even by the standards of the Space Race, the idea seemed bold, maybe a bit crazy. In 1968, before the first human set foot on the moon, an engineer working on one of the Apollo mission’s ...