  Gravitational waves in the linear approximation propagate in the
Schwarzschild spacetime similarly as electromagnetic waves. A fraction of the
radiation scatters off the curvature of the geometry. The energy of the
backscattered part of an initially outgoing pulse of the quadrupole
gravitational radiation is estimated by compact formulas depending on the
initial energy, the Schwarzschild radius, and the location and width of the
pulse. The backscatter becomes negligible in the short wavelength regime.
