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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] 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 (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.