Every little bit counts
I’m too dumb for maths because I have dyscalculia, but i am always amazed by the engineering crowd on how they could improve efficiency by finding and tweaking just the little things.

Its simple rocket math. Every lb of weight must consume fuel.

Si.pky. 1 lb of weight needs 1 lb of fuel to escape orbit. But the fuel has weight also. So the effective fuel you need to lift the rocket and payload is exponential

The tyranny of the rocket equation. Generally, 1% of weight is payload, 85% is fuel.

scientificamerican.com/…/escaping-the-tyranny-of-…

Escaping the Tyranny of the Rocket Equation

As NASA’s Space Launch System moves closer to reality, we all move closer to the dream of permanent outposts in space

Scientific American
Good article for pointing out that specific rocket math. The optimistic tone of that article, though, is very much a product of its publication date of February 2020. The space programs have suffered major technical, financial, and political setbacks since then, and the geopolitical moment doesn’t really lend itself to megaprojects like moon missions.