Method and apparatus for a minimally aggressive vehicle stopping system

A vehicle capture net disposed between a pair of towers each of which includes a shaft, a pair of spools coupled to the shaft, and a pair of straps connected to the net. Each strap is wound on a spool. A brake is coupled to the shaft and to the spools for providing a restraining force of increasing magnitude as the straps are unwound. Unwinding of the straps from the spools advances the pair of spools on threaded portions of the shaft to compress the adjacent braking surfaces against each other. The vehicle is stopped by deploying a vehicle capture net connected to at least one pair of straps each wound on a spool, permitting the vehicle to collide with the capture net and to unwind the straps from corresponding spools, and providing a restraining force of increasing magnitude on the straps as the straps are unwound from the spools.