Escape Velocity

Hi all. I'm new here...

I'm working on a very crude physics engine in C++/MFC as a hobby project, and i've gotten as far as being able to create a simple approximation of the solar system (the sun, planets and their satellites Mercury - Mars). It gets very close to working as "the real thing", the moon orbits as it should, as does the planets around the sun - and as a non-physicist i'm very excited.

Anyway, i'm doing some experiments with a small object approaching earth, and i'm trying to mix in terminal velocity as it enters the atmosphere. As of now, the atmosphere is 100 km thick and has a homogenous fluidity same as on earth's surface.

I'm currently trying to tweak the formula i use for drag, and one thing i noticed was that if the object has a high velocity (rel. to earth) which is way above the terminal velocity as it enters the atmosphere, it "bounces off". I attributed this at first to inadequate programming, but then it struck me that like skipping pebbles on the surface of water, an object must also react similarly to entering the medium of the earth's atmosphere from the near-0 friction of space.

Am i correct in assuming that when an object enters a medium way above the terminal velocity of that medium, it could "skip" the surface of it because the drag would be higher than the 'g'?

Or could this change of media only stop the object? I'm thinking a giant steel wall dropped face first into water wouldn't 'bounce' if dropped straight in, but may skip if it was hurled at an angle.. What are the physics of this action?


Thanks for any enlightenment on this topic.

- Pops