I'd take this article with a grain of salt. It has a very hand-wavy feel to it. It's my understanding that the SpaceX team draws at least some inspiration from

I'd take this article with a grain of salt. It has a very hand-wavy feel to it. It's my understanding that the SpaceX team draws at least some inspiration from the F-1 design. There's a mention of the F-1 under the Merlin 1D section of this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(rocket_engine_family)#Merlin_Vacuum_.281D.29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(rocket_engine_family)#M... The next time Elon Musk does an AMA (or something similar), I'd love for someone to ask him about the F-1. It would surprise me if every rocket engine designed since the F-1 simply ignored all previous designs. We may not have a complete, detailed understanding of the design, but the article comes across a bit on the "breathless amazement" side of things. A lot of the comments here follow a common pattern where a layperson looks at a system and makes seemingly rational comments, but in reality they have an inadequate understanding to even form a relevant opinion. I certainly don't have enough understanding of rocket engine design to hold an opinion. Even after reading that piece, I must consider the source and the tone of the article. Also keep in mind that programs within NASA are, in essence, in competition with companies like SpaceX.