The Neumann Drive will be used by space companies in the US which carry devices on their satellites such as nets or robotic arms to capture orbital waste.

The thruster would then enable those satellites to return to Earth with the waste to be melted down into more fuel.

"It helps the satellites to de-orbit when the lifetime is complete, it could be after three years or five years, so we're helping de-orbiting or reducing space junk," Mr Baig said.