[Purdue77]

Satellites in the same orbit all follow the same laws of motion regardless of mass. All objects in the same orbit have the same velocity. Any less velocity and they fall into a different orbit or into the larger gravitational body. Any more and they move into a different orbit.

Escape velocity is a term concerning the velocity of an object needed to escape the gravitational pull of another object. Orbital velocity is the velocity of an object in orbit about a larger gravitational body.

However, it will take more energy to accelerate more mass to a given orbit than it will less mass.

[z3n]

So basically, we are going back to Newton in the tower. I think it's different because at the point in the experiment before both objects are released they are being held up by someones hands rather than orbital velocity.

Now can we bring in questions of drag? If you don't just have an asteroid but you have a long 'skyscraper', even if it's exposure to atmosphere at that altitude is relatively nominal, because of it's increased surface area, you may have to nudge your geosynchronous altitude to compensate?