Wernher von Braun's crazy giant rocket project in 1958

As early as the end of 1958, the space agency studied a manned mission to the Moon based on a direct flight scenario involving a single spacecraft. Wernher von Braun calculated that such an approach would require a gigantic 6,100-ton rocket to launch a 6,170 kg craft. Deeming this launcher unfeasible, he recommended instead assembling a 200-ton vehicle in Earth orbit from about fifteen separate launches.