# Interstellar ark > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Interstellar_ark > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Interstellar_ark.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_ark > Source revision: 1339987783 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Conceptual space vehicle for interstellar travel "Space ark" redirects here. For the fictional location in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* games, see [Sonic Adventure 2](/source/Sonic_Adventure_2). This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Interstellar ark" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) 1953 illustration of a "Thousand-Year Space Ark" for *[Science-Fiction Plus](/source/Science-Fiction_Plus)* magazine by [Alex Schomburg](/source/Alex_Schomburg) An **interstellar ark** is a conceptual [starship](/source/Starship) designed for [interstellar travel](/source/Interstellar_travel). Interstellar arks may be the most economically feasible method of traveling such distances.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The ark has also been proposed as a potential habitat to preserve civilization and knowledge in the event of a [global catastrophe](/source/Global_catastrophe_scenarios). Such a ship would have to be large, requiring a large [power plant](/source/Power_plant). The [Project Orion](/source/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)) concept of [propulsion by nuclear pulses](/source/Nuclear_pulse_propulsion) 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. ## Thrust concepts Another concern is selection of power sources and mechanisms which would remain viable for the long time spans involved in [interstellar travel](/source/Interstellar_travel) through the desert of space. The longest-lived [space probes](/source/Space_probe) are the [Voyager program](/source/Voyager_program) probes, which use [radioisotope thermoelectric generators](/source/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator) having a useful lifespan of a mere 50 years. One propulsion method for a crewed spacecraft could be a fusion microexplosion [nuclear pulse propulsion](/source/Nuclear_pulse_propulsion) system (like that proposed in [Project Daedalus](/source/Project_Daedalus)) that may allow it to obtain an interstellar cruising velocity of up to 10% of the [speed of light](/source/Speed_of_light). However, if the ship is capable of transits requiring hundreds of thousands of years, chemical and [gravitational slingshot](/source/Gravity_assist) propulsion may be sufficient.[1][2] ## Specific proposals and research projects The [Enzmann starship](/source/Enzmann_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 1955 [Project Orion](/source/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)) considered nuclear propulsion for spacecraft, suitable for deep space voyages. In 1973–1978 [Project Daedalus](/source/Project_Daedalus) was conducted by the [British Interplanetary Society](/source/British_Interplanetary_Society) to study uncrewed interstellar spacecraft. ## See also - [Generation ship](/source/Generation_ship) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** R.W. Moir and W.L. Barr (2005) ["Analysis of Interstellar Spacecraft Cycling between the Sun and the Near Stars"](http://ralphmoir.com/media/jBIS.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131102212601/http://ralphmoir.com/media/jBIS.pdf) 2 November 2013 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) *Journal of the British Interplanetary Society* **58,** pp. 332–341 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Frederik Ceyssens, Maarten Driesen, Kristof Wouters, Pieter-Jan Ceyssens, Lianggong Wen (2011) ["Organizing and financing interstellar space projects – A bottom-up approach"](https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1109/1109.5318.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200407112337/https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1109/1109.5318.pdf) 7 April 2020 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (DARPA/NASA, Orlando, Florida: [100 Year Starship conference](http://100yss.org/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120914082843/http://100yss.org/) 14 September 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ridpath78_3-0)** Ridpath, Ian (1978). [*Messages from the stars: communication and contact with extraterrestrial life*](https://web.archive.org/web/20131231165546/http://books.google.com/books?id=REEIAAAAIAAJ&q=Enzmann+starship&dq=Enzmann+starship&hl=en&ei=d5LmTOfOGIP_8AbYpLWvDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCQ). Harper & Row. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780060135898](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780060135898). Archived from [the original](https://books.google.com/books?id=REEIAAAAIAAJ&q=Enzmann+starship) on 31 December 2013. 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 ... ## External links - [News article](https://web.archive.org/web/20020305234814/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0220_0220_wirelifeinspace.html) - [Lifeboat Foundation](http://lifeboat.com/ex/space.habitats) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Interstellar ark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_ark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_ark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.