payload
payload — noun
- payloadsingular
- payloadsplural
1. the goods, packages, or passengers that a truck, aircraft, ship, or other commer
the goods, packages, or passengers that a truck, aircraft, ship, or other commercial vehicle is designed to transport from one place to another — not including the vehicle's own fuel, crew, or structural weight.
Each delivery van in Ritu's fleet can handle a payload of up to 1,200 kilograms of fresh produce.
collocation: payload of [quantity] [goods]
The logistics coordinator checked the aircraft's payload before approving the cargo manifest for the Taipei flight.
Salma's truck was carrying a full payload of steel beams to the construction site in Taichung.
Bao calculated that the ferry's maximum payload would allow only twelve more cars on board.
- tare weight
the empty weight of the vehicle itself, not the goods it carries
用法筆記
Often contrasted with 'tare weight' (the vehicle's empty weight). In logistics documents, 'payload capacity' is the standard phrase for a vehicle's maximum allowed load.
常見錯誤
2. the warhead or explosive material inside a missile, bomb, or rocket that inflict
the warhead or explosive material inside a missile, bomb, or rocket that inflicts damage when it reaches the target.
The cruise missile carried a conventional payload of high explosives rather than a nuclear warhead.
collocation: conventional payload / nuclear payload
Engineers at the defence lab are designing a smaller guidance system so the missile can carry a heavier explosive payload.
The treaty banned all missiles with a payload exceeding 500 kilograms of explosive material.
Andrés explained that the drone's payload consisted of two precision-guided munitions for the training exercise.
- warhead
more specific term for the explosive part of a missile, often used interchangeably with this sense of 'payload'
- charge
general term for an explosive filling; less specific to missile delivery
- explosive load
descriptive phrase emphasizing the quantity of explosives
用法筆記
Frequently modified by adjectives describing the type of explosive material: 'nuclear payload,' 'conventional payload,' 'chemical payload.' Often used in discussions of arms control and military capability.
常見錯誤
3. the scientific devices and specialized equipment — such as cameras, sensors, and
the scientific devices and specialized equipment — such as cameras, sensors, and communication gear — that a rocket carries into orbit as the reason for the launch.
The satellite's main payload is a high-resolution telescope that will map distant galaxies for five years.
collocation: main payload
Iris helped design the radiation sensor that became part of the Mars rover's scientific payload.
collocation: scientific payload
The space agency announced that the rocket will carry a commercial communications satellite as its primary payload.
Engineers tested the payload bay doors to make sure they would open correctly in zero gravity.
- cargo
used informally for spacecraft payloads, though less technical
- instrument package
a specific subset of payload — the scientific tools on board
- mission load
descriptive; less commonly used in professional aerospace writing
用法筆記
In aerospace contexts, the payload is the reason for the launch — everything else (the rocket stages, fuel, guidance systems) exists only to get the payload to its destination. The 'payload bay' or 'payload fairing' is the compartment that protects it during launch.