Editing Interstellar ark (section)

{{short description|Conceptual space vehicle for interstellar travel}}
{{Redirect|Space ark|the fictional location in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games|Sonic Adventure 2}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
An '''interstellar ark''' is a conceptual [[starship]] designed for [[interstellar travel]]. Interstellar arks may be the most economically feasible method of traveling such distances.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} The ark has also been proposed as a potential habitat to preserve civilization and knowledge in the event of a [[Global catastrophe scenarios|global catastrophe]].

Such a ship would have to be large, requiring a large [[power plant]]. The [[Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)|Project Orion]] concept of [[nuclear pulse propulsion|propulsion by nuclear pulses]] has been proposed. The largest spacecraft design analyzed in Project Orion had a {{Convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on|sp=us}} diameter and weighed approximately 8 million tons. It could be large enough to host a city of 100,000 or more people.