> I recall reading that objects of a low mass -to- RCS value will delay > less rapidly, than those of a high value (IOW, more mass, faster decay). ... I hope this is a typo - more mass gives slower decay! If RCS is indicative of true cross-sectional area, drag force increases with RCS. But the EFFECT of the force decreases with more mass of the affected object. Some examples are the Echo, Explorer 19 and OCS balloons, and spent rocket stages in orbits similar to the payload's (which hopefully are heavier than the empty rocket). A more important example is debris from explosions, that do decay reasonably fast. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Aug 19 2001 - 22:47:42 PDT