Niomi's messages home: Day five.
Remass day. We're docking with a pod that was launched weeks ago. We'll be loading over 400 tonnes.
The pod itself is part of the package. It gets chewed up by our external tank and becomes part of our reaction mass.
I expect we'll eventually get reactionless drives. Though by that point I'll probably be an old lady complaining about waste and how in my day we used every part of the remass pod.
Pod accelerated by station based laser. Minimal onboard power.