payload

What it means

1. That part of a cargo that produces revenue.
2. The total weight of passengers, crew, equipment, and cargo carried by an aircraft or spacecraft.
3. That part of a rocket, missile, propelled stinger, or torpedo that is not concerned with propulsion or guidance, such as a warhead or satellite.

   1990, Dave Mustaine, "Rust in Peace... Polaris", Megadeth, Rust in Peace. I spread disease like a dog / Discharge my payload a mile high / Rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils

   1 more example

   Vendors must also describe to the Air Force whether they have experience integrating the device with payloads from other businesses, if they are capable of supporting flight test operations and working with ground support equipment and how soon the capability can be delivered. “Thrust Vector control must be included as a control methodology,” the service wrote in the request. “Other capability measurements of interest are, but not limited to, flight path angle, total impulse, speed, range, payload characteristics.

   2024 September 23, Vanessa Montalbano, “Air Force interested in advanced booster for hypersonic weapons”, in Inside Defense

In a sentence

1990, Dave Mustaine, "Rust in Peace... Polaris", Megadeth, Rust in Peace. I spread disease like a dog / Discharge my payload a mile high / Rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils

Where it comes from

From pay + load. From the early 20th century.