🔥 Ideal Rocket Equation (Delta-v)
Tsiolkovsky's equation: why rockets are mostly fuel.
Results
- Delta-v (Δv)
- 5.63303 km/s
- Low Earth orbit needs ~9.4 km/s including losses
How it works
Δv = vₑ · ln(m₀ / m_f)
A rocket's speed change depends on exhaust speed and the ratio of full to empty mass — logarithmically. Doubling Δv needs exponentially more fuel. This 'tyranny of the rocket equation' is why reaching orbit is hard.
Assumptions: No gravity or drag losses; single stage.
Reference: Tsiolkovsky (1903)