Cloud coverage aspects of the albedo effect

We discuss some details of the cloud coverage aspects of the albedo effect — the pressure of the radiation reflected by the Earth — on the motion of an artificial satellite. We focus on modeling of the Earth's surface reflection and propagation of the radiation through the atmosphere. We adopt analytical models of these phenomena from radiative transfer theory, in contrast to earlier approaches, based on the fitting of satellite photometry data. We perform several computations based on the accepted models for the ERS-1 and MACEK satellites to test the hierarchy of importance of the effects investigated. In the case of the MACEK mission (which carried a precision accelerometer on board) this information might be essential when interpreting the data.