Jupiter (DIRECT v3.0) 246 Lunar Crew 8.4m

DIRECT v3.0 Jupiter-246

Mission Profile

Jupiter (DIRECT v3.0) 246 Lunar Crew 8.4m was a proposed NASA heavy-lift launch vehicle designed by the DIRECT advocacy group as an alternative to the Ares I and Ares V rockets during the Constellation program era. Standing approximately 94 meters tall with an 8.4-meter core derived from the Space Shuttle's External Tank, it would have used Space Shuttle Main Engines and STS-heritage solid rocket boosters to provide a cost-effective path to heavy-lift for lunar crew missions. Proponents argued the Jupiter approach would have required fewer new vehicle development programs and lower overall costs than the separate Ares I and Ares V architecture, but the design was not adopted as NASA ultimately selected different vehicles for the post-Shuttle era.