Reading between the lines of the article, the actual 100 person craft would not be boosted into orbit fully loaded for the trip to Mars, but sent up empty to be fueled and fitted before the pioneers arrived in orbit on successive launches for the journey. I think that sounds doable. That is where the tankers mentioned in the article come into play. The boost into orbit through our gravity well is the hardest part. The giant engines fired from orbit toward Mars is a piece of cake by comparison.
The video showed little people boarding the capsule...