It's a bit sad (in terms of lost opportunities to put mass in orbit) to recall that the Shuttle, empty, weighed about 86 tons. This weight went to orbit every t

It's a bit sad (in terms of lost opportunities to put mass in orbit) to recall that the Shuttle, empty, weighed about 86 tons. This weight went to orbit every time whether the mission needed people or not. So the launch to LEO capability of the Shuttle was actually about 110 tons, on par with the Saturn V.