KE = 0.5mv^2, so the second stage would only have 16x the kinetic energy if the two stages had the same mass. The dry mass of the first stage is approximately 25,600kg. At 2km/s, its kinetic energy is 51.2 terajoules.…
Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Knoll
KE = 0.5mv^2, so the second stage would only have 16x the kinetic energy if the two stages had the same mass. The dry mass of the first stage is approximately 25,600kg. At 2km/s, its kinetic energy is 51.2 terajoules.…
Knoll's Law of Media Accuracy: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Knoll