ELI5. If the weight of rocket fuel is so important, why do SpaceX boosters waste a ton of fuel landing themselves?

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ELI5. If the weight of rocket fuel is so important, why do SpaceX boosters waste a ton of fuel landing themselves?

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Because the rocket equation is just a part of the “how much does it cost to put a kg into orbit” equation.  Turns out it’s cheaper to carry around a few extra tons of fuel to save a rocket worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

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