 Whereas a well engineered and debugged pump can manage 70–90% efficiency, figures less than half that are not uncommon.Low efficiency may be acceptable in some applications, but in rocketry this is a severe problem.Turbopumps in rockets are important and problematic enough that launch vehicles using one have been caustically described as a "turbopump with a rocket attached"–up to 55% of the total cost has been ascribed to this area.