[EthanNino]

Hey again, I've got another off the wall question.

My school is working on a cubesat experiment, and we're looking for novel ways to quickly deorbit the satellite to reduce space junk.

I know the atmosphere of LEO is mostly atomic oxygen. I'm not sure if it's an ion, or electronegative or anything really, It's been a long time since I took Chemistry, and I don't remember much about it. Can atomic Oxygen be attracted towards electric fields, and if so, would it be possible to electrify the fuselage of the satellite, to attract ions into the path of the cubesat? The idea is that you would create a small patch of denser atmosphere directly in front of the satellite to create more drag and cause it to fall back to Earth.

Please let me know what you think about this!

[Borek]

Can atomic Oxygen be attracted towards electric fields, and if so, would it be possible to electrify the fuselage of the satellite, to attract ions into the path of the cubesat?

I don't see it working. Both oxygen molecules and atoms are neutral, so they won't be attracted by a charge.