Comment Re:Some potential, but hardly for a genuine leap (Score 1) 282
The Saturn V employed a total mass of 2970 tonnes to lift a mere 118 tonnes to LEO. But the actual raw energy needed to lift 118 tonnes to 200 km is E=mgh = 118,000 times 9.81 times 200,000 = 232 GJ, which is the quantity of energy contained in just 5.47 tonnes of gasoline. So the efficiency of the Saturn V was 0.184%, not because it was a "bad" rocket, but because it was a rocket.
If you just lift the payload to 200 km, it will immediately start falling back to the surface. The payload must also be accelerated to orbital speed, 8000 m/s, at which the 118 tonnes has a kinetic energy of 3776 GJ, so your "efficiency" is off by quite a bit.