Interstellar ark

"Space ark" redirects here. For the fictional location in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, see Sonic Adventure 2.

An interstellar ark or spaceark is a conceptual space vehicle that some have speculated could be used for interstellar travel. Interstellar arks may be the most economically feasible method of traveling such distances. The ark has also been proposed as a potential habitat to preserve civilization and knowledge in the event of a global catastrophe.

Such a ship would have to be large, requiring a large power plant. The Project Orion concept of propulsion by nuclear pulses has been proposed. The largest spacecraft design analyzed in Project Orion had a 400 m 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 through the desert of space. The longest lived space probes are the Voyager program probes, which use radioisotope thermoelectric generators having a useful lifespan of a mere 50 years.

One of the quickest thrust types for a crewed spacecraft could be propulsion by fusion microexplosion nuclear pulse propulsion system, like that found in Project Daedalus that may allow it to obtain an interstellar cruising velocity of up to 10% of the speed of light. However, if the ship is capable of transits requiring hundreds of thousands of years, chemical and gravitational slingshot propulsion may be sufficient.[1][2]

Specific proposals and research projects

Enzmann starship

Main article: Enzmann starship

In 1964 Robert Enzmann proposed 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]

Project Orion

In 1955 Project Orion considered nuclear propulsion for spacecraft, suitable for deep space voyages.

Project Daedalus

In 1973-1978 Project Daedalus was conducted by the British Interplanetary Society to study unmanned interstellar spacecraft.

Fiction

See also

References

  1. R.W. Moir and W.L. Barr (2005) "Analysis of Interstellar Spacecraft Cycling between the Sun and the Near Stars" Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 58, pp.332–341
  2. Frederik Ceyssens, Maarten Driesen, Kristof Wouters, Pieter-Jan Ceyssens, Lianggong Wen (2011) "Organizing and financing interstellar space projects – A bottom-up approach" (DARPA/NASA, Orlando, Florida: 100 Year Starship conference)
  3. Ian Ridpath – Messages from the stars: communication and contact with extraterrestrial life (1978, Harper & Row, 241 pages) = Google Books 2010, Snippet View: "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 ..."
  4. http://www.otrplotspot.com/DimensionX.htm
  5. https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Dimension_X_Singles

External links

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