Measurements of electron temperature, satellite potential, ion density and ion composition from the cylindrical electrostatic probe and the Bennett ion mass spectrometer on board the AE-C satellite were used to investigate the influence of the body size parameter RD=R0/&lgr;D (where R0 is the satellite radius and &lgr;D is the ambient Debye length) on ion distribution in the very near wake. The investigation focused on [O+> plasmas. It was found that the ratio (&bgr;) of density in the wake to ambient density varies with RD and that the variation can be described by a simple exponential relationship of the form &bgr;=a0 exp (a1RD) for 37?RD?247 and a0=0.006, a1=-0.009. the present study extends that of Samir et al. [1979a>.