by Blake Parker

The Jupiter 246 is part of the Direct v3.0 project, a proposed alternative to NASA’s Ares family of rockets. The Jupiter family of rockets are comprised of the standard shuttle solid rocket boosters (as opposed to the 5-segment on Ares) and a modified external fuel tank with the main engines on the bottom and an attachment for an upper stage on top. This particular rocket, is designated the Jupiter 246 because it has two stages, four Space Shuttle Main Engines on the first stage, and six RL-10’s on the upper stage. More information on Direct can be found here.

The model is a prototype for an upcoming free card model kit (I didn’t design though). The major modifications I made to this model include using parts from Alfonso Moreno’s shuttle stack such as the LOX pipe and the SSME’s. I used textured orange paper to simulate the foam insulation on the first stage. The base is just a random scrap of wood that I found.

Image: Side views

Image: Base

Image: Engines

Image: Payload