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Aninterstellar ark is a conceptualstarship designed forinterstellar travel. Interstellar arks may be the most economically feasible method of traveling such distances.[citation needed] The ark has also been proposed as a potential habitat to preserve civilization and knowledge in the event of aglobal catastrophe.
Such a ship would have to be large, requiring a largepower plant. TheProject Orion concept ofpropulsion by nuclear pulses has been proposed. The largest spacecraft design analyzed in Project Orion had a 400 m (1,300 ft) diameter and weighed approximately 8 million tons. It could be large enough to host a city of 100,000 or more people.
Another concern is selection of power sources and mechanisms which would remain viable for the long time spans involved ininterstellar travel through the desert of space. The longest-livedspace probes are theVoyager program probes, which useradioisotope thermoelectric generators having a useful lifespan of a mere 50 years.
One propulsion method for a crewed spacecraft could be a fusion microexplosionnuclear pulse propulsion system (like that proposed inProject Daedalus) that may allow it to obtain an interstellar cruising velocity of up to 10% of thespeed of light. However, if the ship is capable of transits requiring hundreds of thousands of years, chemical andgravitational slingshot propulsion may be sufficient.[1][2]
TheEnzmann starship proposed in 1964 is a large fusion-powered spacecraft that could function as an interstellar ark, supporting a crew of 200 with extra space for expansion, on multi-year journeys at subluminal speeds to nearby star systems.[3]
In 1955Project Orion considered nuclear propulsion for spacecraft, suitable for deep space voyages.
In 1973–1978Project Daedalus was conducted by theBritish Interplanetary Society to study uncrewed interstellar spacecraft.
As long ago as 1964, Robert D. Enzmann of the Raytheon Corporation proposed an interstellar ark driven by eight nuclear pulse rockets. The living quarters of the starship, habitable by 200 people but with room for growth ...