Measurements of ion current, electron temperature, and density and values of satellite potential from the U.S. Air Force Satellite S3-2 together with ion composition measurements from the Atmosphere Explorer (AE-E) satellite were used to examine the variation of the ratio &agr; = [I+(wake)>/[I+(ambient)> (where I+ is the ion current) with altitude and to examine the significance of the parametric interplay between ionic Mach number, normalized body size RD( = R0/&lgr;D, where R0 is the satellite radius and &lgr;D is the ambient debye length) and normalized body potenital ϕN( = eϕs/KTe, where ϕs is the satellite potential, Te is the electron temperature, and e and K are constants). It was possible to separate between the influence of RD and ϕN on &agr; for a specific range parameters. Uncertainty, however, remains regarding the competiton between RD and S(H+) and S(O+) are oxygen and hydrogen ionic Mach numbers, respectively) in determining the ion distribution in the nearest vicincity to the satellite surface. A brief discussion relevant to future experiments in the area of body plasma flow interactions to be conducted on board the Shuttle/Spacelab facility, is also included.