Payload is the useful or important stuff that a vehicle, such as a rocket, truck, or drone, is carrying. In space travel, it often means the satellites, instruments, or crew that the rocket is designed to deliver.
“Payload” combines “pay” and “load,” originally in shipping, where it meant the part of the cargo that earns money. The idea later expanded to mean the main valuable cargo in aircraft and rockets.
A rocket’s giant fuel tanks and engines exist mostly to move the tiny payload at the top. In other words, most of the rocket is a disposable delivery system for a small, precious package. The word makes you realize how much effort goes into moving just a little bit of ‘important’ stuff.
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