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Trade studies were ordered by NASA in November, and SpaceX's in the game. Proposed rockets at bottom. Check out the Falcon XX - makes a Saturn V look like a wimp 
Scale of Merlin 2 - 1.7 million lb/ft,
bigger than the F1 used in Saturn V
Aviation Week article....
Scale of Merlin 2 - 1.7 million lb/ft,
bigger than the F1 used in Saturn V
Aviation Week article....
NASA Studies Scaled-Up Falcon, Merlin
SpaceX will respond to NASA’s heavy-lift launch vehicle study with concepts that can carry 150 tons to orbit and cost no more than $300 million per launch.
Outlining SpaceX’s approach to the contract—one of 13 trade-study awards made by NASA in early November to look at innovative launch vehicle concepts and propulsion technologies—CEO Elon Musk says only plans that embrace economic, political and technical solutions will work.
"“The physics is the easiest problem, but the economics and politics are quite pernicious. Any attempt at a solution that doesn’t try to satisfy those three constituencies—forget it,†says Musk, who refers to the study as super-heavy lift to distinguish it from Delta IV Heavy- and Falcon 9 Heavy-class launchers. “We’ll propose several things: One is to minimize development time and cost and make sure most importantly the operational cost and fixed cost of a super-heavy lift is low. Otherwise, cancellation is a certainty in the long term,†he says, referring to the inevitable budgetary pressure all programs will see in the face of the rising U.S. national deficit.
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SpaceX will respond to NASA’s heavy-lift launch vehicle study with concepts that can carry 150 tons to orbit and cost no more than $300 million per launch.
Outlining SpaceX’s approach to the contract—one of 13 trade-study awards made by NASA in early November to look at innovative launch vehicle concepts and propulsion technologies—CEO Elon Musk says only plans that embrace economic, political and technical solutions will work.
"“The physics is the easiest problem, but the economics and politics are quite pernicious. Any attempt at a solution that doesn’t try to satisfy those three constituencies—forget it,†says Musk, who refers to the study as super-heavy lift to distinguish it from Delta IV Heavy- and Falcon 9 Heavy-class launchers. “We’ll propose several things: One is to minimize development time and cost and make sure most importantly the operational cost and fixed cost of a super-heavy lift is low. Otherwise, cancellation is a certainty in the long term,†he says, referring to the inevitable budgetary pressure all programs will see in the face of the rising U.S. national deficit.
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