Electrodynamic Tether Deorbit

Dead satellites and spent upper stages are one of the largest contributors to orbital debris risk, and every one left in orbit is a future collision hazard that can seed a Kessler-style cascade. This simulator models a real, propellant-free way to deal with them: an electrodynamic tether. A conducting cable hangs radially below the satellite, current runs through it, and Earth's magnetic field turns that current into a genuine Lorentz force — braking the satellite out of orbit for disposal, or, with the current reversed, boosting it using only electrical power. Adjust the current and tether length to see how the force, decay rate and orbital period respond, watch the field-aligned force vector and the electron flow along the tether update live, and read the governing equations in the panel below.