The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) G-2, G-3, and G-4 ionized and neutral barium cloud positions are triangulated from ground-based optical data. From the time history of the ionized cloud motion perpendicular to the magnetic field, the late time coupling of the ionized cloud with the collisionless ambient plasma in the magnetosphere is investigated for each of the releases. The coupling of the ionized clouds with the ambient medium is qualitatively consistent with predictions from theory in that the coupling time increases with increasing distances from the Earth. Quantitative comparison with simple theory for the coupling time also yields reasonable agreement. Other effects not predicted by the theory are discussed in the context of the observations. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994