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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Rockets & Spacecraft

Payload

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

/ˈpeɪloʊd/nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, payload means: The cargo a rocket carries into space for a customer or a mission, such as a satellite, a probe, supplies or a crew capsule, as opposed to the rocket itself.

In Turkish: faydalı yük, yük

How it is used

A key word in the launch business. Engineers integrate, encapsulate and deploy payloads and talk about payload capacity, payload mass and the payload fairing that protects it during launch. On a satellite, 'payload' can also mean its main instruments.

Example sentences

  1. The payload separated from the upper stage exactly as planned.

  2. The rocket's payload capacity to geostationary transfer orbit is about eight tonnes.

Common collocations

  • payload capacity
  • payload fairing
  • deploy the payload
  • payload mass
  • rideshare payload
  • rocketA vehicle or engine that moves forward by pushing hot gas out of the back at high speed. Rockets are used to send satellites, probes and crews into space.
  • launch vehicleA rocket designed to carry a payload from Earth's surface into space. The term covers all its stages, engines and boosters together.
  • satelliteAn object that orbits a planet or another body. Most often it means a machine sent into orbit for communication, navigation, weather forecasting or observation.
  • stageOne section of a rocket with its own engines and propellant. When a stage runs out of fuel, it separates and drops away, making the rest of the rocket lighter.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Rockets & Spacecraft

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