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Description
Autobot spaceship ARK G1 Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor

The Ark is the name given to the Autobot spaceship that, in many universes, originally carried the Autobot and Decepticon armies to Earth.

The Ark is a Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. It has five decks and houses a full crew complement of 300 Transformers (although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary). Its environment is fully automated and self-sufficient. For engines, it features 4 Hyperfuel Intake Accelerators.

It is armed with 16 particle-combustion cannons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.

Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.
The comic version of the ship tends to have a more squared-off look to it and is frequently (though not always) shown as being a metallic silver. It has a main computer designated Aunty and a number of ancillary shuttlecraft.

The Ark was "the last of the great arks," suggesting that there had been previous Vanguard-class ships. Raiders of the Last Ark It is also referred to as the most powerful starship in Cybertron's history, and control of it was considered a huge tactical advantage.

It was launched to clear a path for the wandering planet Cybertron through an asteroid field. When this was done and her reserves depleted, the Decepticons attacked and boarded her. Hoping to end the threat of Megatron forever, Optimus Prime purposely crashed the ship into the passing planet Earth. The Ark crashed into Mount St. Hilary, a volcano located a small distance outside of what would one day become Portland, Oregon. The Transformers

After the crash, some of the Ark's systems still functioned, and when they detected the Decepticon Shockwave making planetfall, the ship revived five of her Autobot crew and rebuilt them into the Dinobots. Upon the disappearance of these warriors in their attempt to destroy Shockwave, the Ark shut itself down. Repeat Performance!
At no point in the comics does it explain why it rebuilt the Dinobots based on the dominant organic life, and yet it could only assimilate mechanical life in 1984.

Four million years later, Mount St. Hilary erupted, jarring the ship back to life. It revived and, unable to distinguish Autobot from Decepticon or to detect organic life (clearly it had suffered additional malfunctions since creating the Dinobots), it revived both sides to transform into the machines it perceived as the planet's dominant lifeforms.

The Ark became the Autobots' main base of operations on Earth. The Transformers

The Ark constructed five new Transformer bodies. Wheeljack installed within them the minds of five Autobot warriors, which were encoded in crystals before the Autobots left Cybertron. Rock and Roll-Out!

During Grimlock's first term as Autobot leader, he had the ship repaired Used Autobots and returned to space. Child's Play The Ark served as a base of operations of sorts for the various search parties during the Matrix quest. Matrix Quest The Creation Matrix was eventually found by Thunderwing, but it had been corrupted by evil and began controlling Thunderwing's actions. Thunderwing was granted access to the Ark while aboard a shuttle stolen from Grimlock's search party. Once aboard, the corrupted Creation Matrix fought the Autobots through his vessel, Thunderwing, who was beating everyone up until Nightbeat harpooned him with the shuttle and opened the cargo bay doors. The shuttle, Thunderwing, and the Creation Matrix were ejected into space. All Fall Down

The Ark hung around near Earth for a time, until it was abandoned in orbit when Primus teleported all nearby Transformers back to Cybertron to face Unicron. Out of Time! It was recovered by the Dinobots and flown to Cybertron to engage Unicron. The Void! Grimlock, being the master of tactics that he is, physically rammed Unicron with the powerfully armed starship, which was then abandoned and crashed on Cybertron. On the Edge of Extinction! It was recovered this time by Shockwave and Starscream, who repaired it and took it to Earth to conquer that planet with it. Still Life! This plan was foiled by Galvatron, Megatron and Ratchet crashing the party. Their battle caused the ship to crash to Earth again, this time into the Canadian wilderness. A Savage Circle

Crew of the Ark

The Ark's original crew in the comics included all of the 1984 Autobots, the Dinobots, Red Alert (in the UK), the recorded mental engrams of most of the other 1985 Autobot cars, and Toaster.

The crew of the Ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
Autobot Cars
Bluestreak
Hound
Ironhide
Jazz
Mirage
Prowl
Ratchet
Sideswipe
Sunstreaker
Trailbreaker
Wheeljack
Autobot Mini Vehicles
Brawn
Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Gears
Huffer
Windcharger
Dinobots
Grimlock
Slag
Sludge
Snarl
Swoop

Generation 2

The Ark was recovered and repaired by Megatron, Realignments who attempted to take it back to Cybertron and conquer that planet with it. This was foiled by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who sacrificed their lives to cause an anti-matter explosion that finally destroyed the great ship. All or Nothing!
Classics
The Classics comics pick up after the Marvel comics series but ignore the events of the UK books and Generation 2.
Since it crashed 15 years ago, it's rounded itself off and grown another rocket port.
Since it crashed 15 years ago, it's rounded itself off and grown another rocket port.

Megatron took command of the Ark, but apparently kept it (with Ratchet on ice, and Shockwave's head in a jar) as his new headquarters on Earth. The ship played host to the visiting Decepticons led by Bug Bite, and a subsequent battle between the Decepticons as well as a party of invading Autobots, who destroyed its computers. Games of Deception
Generation 1 cartoon
The Autobot ship in the Generation 1 cartoon is never actually named. Fans have generally called it the Ark, however, borrowing the name from its comics counterpart. In appearance, the ship tends to have a more rounded, ovoid look to it and is a golden yellow color. It has a main computer designated Teletraan I.
The Ark's launch. An unseen bumper sticker reads: "Primus is my copilot".
The Ark's launch. An unseen bumper sticker reads: "Primus is my copilot".

Other Vanguard-class ships, pretty much identical to the Ark, are seen taking refugees from Cybertron on a history tape. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 It is suspected that the settlers of known Autobot colonies such as Paradron were among these.

The Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime to search for fuel, but ran afoul of two colliding asteroids. Then the Decepticon ship attacked, and the Decepticons under Megatron boarded it. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into a volcano in what would eventually become a desert. The exact location is unknown, but closely resembled the American southwest. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
In the second issue of the Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers manga, the Autobot Headquarters is said to be located in Arizona. The manga acted as a supplement to the television series. Whether this pertains to the English version of the show is debatable.

Crew of the Ark

The Ark's crew consisted of all the 1984 Autobots. A vehicle resembling Grapple's alt-mode and called "Hauler" is also seen shortly after the Autobots revived on Earth and may represent another crew member. Some or all of the 1985 Autobots may also have been crewmembers.

The original crew of the Ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
Roller
Autobot Cars
Bluestreak
Hound
Ironhide
Jazz
Mirage
Prowl
Ratchet
Sideswipe
Sunstreaker
Trailbreaker
Wheeljack
Hauler
Autobot Mini Vehicles
Brawn
Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Gears
Huffer
Windcharger

A number of Autobots introduced later in the series (Perceptor, Red Alert, etc.) came down with Cybertonium depletion Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 indicating they have been away from Cybertron just as long as the known members of the original Ark crew. This may indicate they were also part of the Ark crew behind the scenes and perhaps not initially repaired by Teletraan I.
Autobot Headquarters

After coming back online, the Decepticons immediately departed. However, the Autobots remained in their crashed ship, which served as their base of operations: Autobot Headquarters.

The ship was severely damaged by the crash and its subsequent entombment; massive rocks were visible inside the ship (whether they penetrated the hull on impact or were formed there later is unclear), and broken and damaged consoles are frequently seen in the background. The ship never flew again. The Autobots seemed to be preparing to re-launch it after the crash of the Decepticon space cruiser, More than Meets the Eye, Part 3 but months later, both the Autobots and the ship remained on Earth. Transport to Oblivion

Over time, the Autobots modified and expanded their base. An elevator provided passage to upper levels within the volcano, Enter the Nightbird and a retractable door sealed off the volcano's crater. Dinobot Island, Part 2 Early on, a small module serving as Ratchet's medical center sat near the main entrance, More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 but was later removed. Explorations by Sideswipe and Brawn revealed a system of caves beyond the ship's walls. The caves revealed a treasure trove of dinosaur bones, which became the inspiration for the Dinobots. S.O.S. Dinobots The base's nerve center was the supercomputer Teletraan I.

The base's geographic location proved a liability on at least two occasions, when Decepticon-induced calamities caused the volcano to become active again. During the first of these eruptions, several Autobots were blasted out of the cone and into the troposphere, requiring Skyfire to come to their rescue. Ironhide managed to bring the eruption to a halt by shooting down some rocks. No, really. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 The system of caves beneath the base also allowed the Constructicons to enter the base from below, in an attempt to destroy Teletraan I. Heavy Metal War Laserbeak was known to use the volcano's crater as an entry/exit point when on spying missions. Divide and Conquer

Autobot Headquarters remained in use in 2005, though it appears to have been supplanted by Autobot City as the Autobots' primary operations center. During Megatron's massive assault on Autobot City in 2005, Autobot Headquarters fell under assault by Menasor and Bruticus. Transformers: The Animated Movie
Jealous of the better mountain headquarters, Matt Trakker s

By 2006, the base had been equipped with a large number of retractable cannons built into the mountainside. They were not enough to save it from destruction at the hands of the giant Decepticon Trypticon, however. A squad of Autobots led by Warpath made a stand against the oncoming city-bot, but were brushed aside. Warpath ordered Teletraan I to activate the automated defenses, but the barrage of cannonfire gave Trypticon only momentary pause. He smashed the guns, then blasted the entire mountain to rubble. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
The distinction between the ship and the headquarters is unclear. The presence of damaged equipment in the base (presumably, damaged when the ship crashed) implies that the Ark and Autobot Headquarters are one and the same. However, the Autobots are consistently shown driving more-or-less directly out of their headquarters through a ground-level passage below the ship. Further, the Ark rests at a high angle from the horizontal, while the inside of Autobot Headquarters is shown with everything upright and normal. While artificial gravity (which the Transformers definitely have) could explain the latter, another explanation might be that Autobot Headquarters is actually a series of remodeled caves within the volcano, adjacent to the ship.

Beast Wars cartoon
The Ark as it appeared in Beast Wars was based upon the general appearance of the Ark from the Generation 1 cartoon, but with some design influences from the U.S.S. Defiant from science fiction series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

According to Optimus Primal, the Ark was built using "die-cast" construction, a lost art by the Beast Wars era.

According to Blackarachnia, the Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime, carrying a group of the Autobots' "finest heroes". One of the two copies of the Covenant of Primus was carried aboard. During the voyage, the Ark came under attack by the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet. Decepticon Leader Megatron led a boarding party which attacked the Ark crew. However, both ships were damaged and fell into the gravity well of the nearby planet Earth. The Ark crashed into a semi-active volcano, and the Transformers aboard were sent into emergency stasis lock.

Though Megatron had ostensibly come to prehistoric Earth to look for a massive cache of energon to fuel his war against the Maximal Imperium, he was in reality following instructions recorded by the original Megatron on the Golden Disk from the Voyager space probe. Once on Earth, he apparently found the crash site of the Ark, but buried the entrance to the interior of the volcano. At that point, he had deemed the plan to destroy the deactivated Autobots aboard her and change the outcome of the Great War as a last-chance gamble should he ever be backed into a corner with little hope of escape. Such a situation came to pass while he was a prisoner aboard Ravage's transwarp cruiser, and he convinced the former Decepticon to free him by revealing his plan. The Agenda (Part 2)

After failing to destroy the Maximal base, he traveled to the crash site, where he forced Blackarachnia to deactivate the security systems of Teletraan I and allow him access to the Ark's bridge. Observing that he was walking in the hallowed halls of the past as somebody who was soon to change the very course of history, he flew to the prone form of Optimus Prime and unleashed a torrent of pent-up rage over what he felt was Maximal injustice toward the conquered Predacons. He then fired at Optimus Prime's head, which created a time storm. The Agenda (Part III) Fortunately, the Maximals fixed everything. Optimal Situation

Megatron would later reenter the Ark with a new mission: take the spark of Megatron and merge it with his own. However, Tarantulas betrayed him and set the Ark to self-destruct. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was able to deactivate the overload. Master Blaster

After securing the Nemesis, Megatron attempted to destroy the Ark (along with all the Decepticons inside, which might have destroyed him as well). The Maximals tried to bring the Ark online and use it to fight against the Nemesis, but the engines had been idle for too long. However, using a shuttle housed in the Ark, Rhinox was able to damage the Nemesis and capture Megatron. After sufficient modifications, the shuttle was later used to transport the Maximals home, while the Ark and its sleeping passengers remained in the volcano to begin the Great War eventually. Nemesis Part 2
IDW Beast Wars comics

Razorbeast and his small, temporally displaced group traveled to the Maximal encampment in the volcano in order to obtain tools to repair the transwarp signal booster which they hoped to find in the wreckage of Ravage's transwarp cruiser. Not willing to risk taking something that might be noticed missing from the Axalon's shell, they instead took what they need from the Ark. The Gathering issue 3

Dreamwave Generation 1 comics

The Ark was destroyed in 2004 while Ratchet and Brawn countered a Decepticon attack headed by Starscream and Bruticus. Night of the Combaticons
There is some question as to the Ark's appearance in the Dreamwave continuity, as it is never shown in totality in an actual comic story. Pictures are seen in the final issue of their More than Meets the Eye guide, and there it is drawn to look mostly like the cartoon model (though oddly missing the rear "spoiler"). However, the DK Transformers Ultimate Guide, whose main focus was Dreamwave continuity, gives a cutaway diagram of the Ark drawn in the Marvel Comics style instead, only colored yellow-gold as in the cartoon.
Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comics

The Ark crashed on Earth at some point in the past, leaving the Autobots and Decepticons inside it deactivated. Eventually, the craft was found by the arms trafficker Destro, who passed the information on to the terrorist organization Cobra. Cobra then broke into the Ark, hauled away its dormant passengers, and covered up their tracks so nobody else would discover the ship. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1 Unbeknownst to the humans, their break-in caused the Ark's computer, Teletran-One, to be reactivated. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4 Unfortunately for Cobra, one of their own defected to G.I. Joe and told them all about their findings. The United States government subsequently dug up the Ark, dismantled it, and brought the pieces to Roswell for study. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2

Following the defeat of Cobra and the Decepticons, the government helped the Autobots construct a new Ark with which to return to Cybertron. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6

IDW Generation 1 comics

6.2 million meta-cycles ago, the first legendary vessel to be designated as the Ark was launched from Cybertron under the command of Nova Prime. Its stated mission was to plot a safe passage from the Cybertronian Quadrant of the galaxy through the Benzuli Expanse, though its true mission was Expansion. Twenty-thousand astro-cycles out, it disappeared with all hands lost. Over the eras following its loss, rumor, myth and legend sprang up around the ship, obscuring the few existing facts surrounding its fate. Spotlight: Optimus Prime, Spotlight: Galvatron
This Ark appears in the flashbacks to look a bit like a merging of the older cartoon and Marvel Comics designs.

Known passengers on this first Ark include:

Nova Prime
Cyclonus
Galvatron
Grindcore
Jhiaxus
Scourge
Straxus

Tailgate was also supposed to be on board, but never made it to the launch. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

On his reappearance, Galvatron revealed that the ship disappeared after he intentionally piloted it directly into the anomaly within the Benzuli Expanse, which turned out to be a gateway to a region known as the Dead Universe. Spotlight: Galvatron

In the present day, the fate of the first Ark was one of the "big three" mysteries that Nightbeat liked to dig into in his free time. He eventually got a lead on possible remains of the ship, but it turned out to be a trap specifically set to draw him in. On Gorlam Prime he found wreckage of the correct type and age to come from the ship, and far beneath the surface, he discovered a vast inter-dimensional portal. Before he could dig into the mystery even more, he was overtaken by a strange group of Transformers who captured him and messed with his head, eventually erasing his memory of being there at all. Spotlight: Nightbeat

While Nova Prime's plans for the Expansion failed, the Ark remained in the Dead Universe alongside the wreckage of starships from other universes. Galvatron floated past it when he returned to the strange dimension and met D-Void. Heart of Darkness issue 2

In the modern era, the Autobots utilized numerous ships designated "Ark", each distinguished by a number following the title. Among them were the Ark-12, Ark-17, Ark-19, Ark-27, and Ark-32. The original Ark was retroactively given the designation Ark-1.

The Ark-1 Memorial Grounds were dedicated to the first Ark and its crew. Chaos Theory Part 2 The Autobot Rung had a model of the Ark-1 on his desk. Bullets
Merchandise
Titanium Series

Autobot Shuttle Ark (3-inch Robot Masters, 2006)

The first ever tangible representation of the Ark was a die-cast Titanium figurine at the 3-inch scale. The very forward section was based on the Ark's appearance in the original cartoon, but attached to it is an approximation of the back 2/3s of another space ship, the "Electronic Star Bird" created and sold by Milton Bradley in 1978. [1] Odder yet, the technical information on the back refers to the Marvel Comics Ark's destruction at the hands of Fortress Maximus, and that Ark, as seen above, does not resemble either the cartoon Ark or this toy at all.

The very forward portion of the Titanium is removable, allowing for a more accurate toy. (The most iconic portion of the Ark, the rear engines which were often seen protruding from its rocky resting point on Earth, are not present due to placement of the attachment point.)

More information on the Ark at TFU.info

Diamond Select

Autobot Snow Globe (2007)

The Ark appears as part of the base of this snow globe, mostly embedded in a mountain like in the cartoon. The globe was sculpted by Art Asylum and sold by Diamond Select Toys.

Notes

The Ark was clearly named after the real-world biblical story of Noah's Ark, a seagoing vessel that carried representatives of every animal species on Earth through the Great Flood. With the Beast Wars cartoon adding the Covenant of Primus to the ship's cargo, it could be said to parallel the other biblical Ark as well.
Some Autobot shuttles featured in the Marvel UK stories used the cartoon series' design for the Ark.
A working name for the Ark was "Aunty". This was confirmed by Bob Budiansky at his panel at BotCon 2010.[1]
Also confirmed by Bob Budiansky was that the ship was originally planned to crash into Mount St. Helens rather than Mount St. Hilary.
The ship's Japanese name in supplemental media, "Iacon Bridge", was derived from the translation of the English line "We're nearing the bridge to Iacon. One mega-mile to go.", in which "Bridge" was rendered as the English word and not as a Japanese word. From that line, the Japanese assumed that "Iacon Bridge" referred to the ship. A later reference book uses the term to refer to Iacon itself.

Description
Autobot spaceship ARK G1 Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor

The Ark is the name given to the Autobot spaceship that, in many universes, originally carried the Autobot and Decepticon armies to Earth.

The Ark is a Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. It has five decks and houses a full crew complement of 300 Transformers (although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary). Its environment is fully automated and self-sufficient. For engines, it features 4 Hyperfuel Intake Accelerators.

It is armed with 16 particle-combustion cannons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.

Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.
The comic version of the ship tends to have a more squared-off look to it and is frequently (though not always) shown as being a metallic silver. It has a main computer designated Aunty and a number of ancillary shuttlecraft.

The Ark was "the last of the great arks," suggesting that there had been previous Vanguard-class ships. Raiders of the Last Ark It is also referred to as the most powerful starship in Cybertron's history, and control of it was considered a huge tactical advantage.

It was launched to clear a path for the wandering planet Cybertron through an asteroid field. When this was done and her reserves depleted, the Decepticons attacked and boarded her. Hoping to end the threat of Megatron forever, Optimus Prime purposely crashed the ship into the passing planet Earth. The Ark crashed into Mount St. Hilary, a volcano located a small distance outside of what would one day become Portland, Oregon. The Transformers

After the crash, some of the Ark's systems still functioned, and when they detected the Decepticon Shockwave making planetfall, the ship revived five of her Autobot crew and rebuilt them into the Dinobots. Upon the disappearance of these warriors in their attempt to destroy Shockwave, the Ark shut itself down. Repeat Performance!
At no point in the comics does it explain why it rebuilt the Dinobots based on the dominant organic life, and yet it could only assimilate mechanical life in 1984.

Four million years later, Mount St. Hilary erupted, jarring the ship back to life. It revived and, unable to distinguish Autobot from Decepticon or to detect organic life (clearly it had suffered additional malfunctions since creating the Dinobots), it revived both sides to transform into the machines it perceived as the planet's dominant lifeforms.

The Ark became the Autobots' main base of operations on Earth. The Transformers

The Ark constructed five new Transformer bodies. Wheeljack installed within them the minds of five Autobot warriors, which were encoded in crystals before the Autobots left Cybertron. Rock and Roll-Out!

During Grimlock's first term as Autobot leader, he had the ship repaired Used Autobots and returned to space. Child's Play The Ark served as a base of operations of sorts for the various search parties during the Matrix quest. Matrix Quest The Creation Matrix was eventually found by Thunderwing, but it had been corrupted by evil and began controlling Thunderwing's actions. Thunderwing was granted access to the Ark while aboard a shuttle stolen from Grimlock's search party. Once aboard, the corrupted Creation Matrix fought the Autobots through his vessel, Thunderwing, who was beating everyone up until Nightbeat harpooned him with the shuttle and opened the cargo bay doors. The shuttle, Thunderwing, and the Creation Matrix were ejected into space. All Fall Down

The Ark hung around near Earth for a time, until it was abandoned in orbit when Primus teleported all nearby Transformers back to Cybertron to face Unicron. Out of Time! It was recovered by the Dinobots and flown to Cybertron to engage Unicron. The Void! Grimlock, being the master of tactics that he is, physically rammed Unicron with the powerfully armed starship, which was then abandoned and crashed on Cybertron. On the Edge of Extinction! It was recovered this time by Shockwave and Starscream, who repaired it and took it to Earth to conquer that planet with it. Still Life! This plan was foiled by Galvatron, Megatron and Ratchet crashing the party. Their battle caused the ship to crash to Earth again, this time into the Canadian wilderness. A Savage Circle

Crew of the Ark

The Ark's original crew in the comics included all of the 1984 Autobots, the Dinobots, Red Alert (in the UK), the recorded mental engrams of most of the other 1985 Autobot cars, and Toaster.

The crew of the Ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
Autobot Cars
Bluestreak
Hound
Ironhide
Jazz
Mirage
Prowl
Ratchet
Sideswipe
Sunstreaker
Trailbreaker
Wheeljack
Autobot Mini Vehicles
Brawn
Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Gears
Huffer
Windcharger
Dinobots
Grimlock
Slag
Sludge
Snarl
Swoop

Generation 2

The Ark was recovered and repaired by Megatron, Realignments who attempted to take it back to Cybertron and conquer that planet with it. This was foiled by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who sacrificed their lives to cause an anti-matter explosion that finally destroyed the great ship. All or Nothing!
Classics
The Classics comics pick up after the Marvel comics series but ignore the events of the UK books and Generation 2.
Since it crashed 15 years ago, it's rounded itself off and grown another rocket port.
Since it crashed 15 years ago, it's rounded itself off and grown another rocket port.

Megatron took command of the Ark, but apparently kept it (with Ratchet on ice, and Shockwave's head in a jar) as his new headquarters on Earth. The ship played host to the visiting Decepticons led by Bug Bite, and a subsequent battle between the Decepticons as well as a party of invading Autobots, who destroyed its computers. Games of Deception
Generation 1 cartoon
The Autobot ship in the Generation 1 cartoon is never actually named. Fans have generally called it the Ark, however, borrowing the name from its comics counterpart. In appearance, the ship tends to have a more rounded, ovoid look to it and is a golden yellow color. It has a main computer designated Teletraan I.
The Ark's launch. An unseen bumper sticker reads: "Primus is my copilot".
The Ark's launch. An unseen bumper sticker reads: "Primus is my copilot".

Other Vanguard-class ships, pretty much identical to the Ark, are seen taking refugees from Cybertron on a history tape. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 It is suspected that the settlers of known Autobot colonies such as Paradron were among these.

The Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime to search for fuel, but ran afoul of two colliding asteroids. Then the Decepticon ship attacked, and the Decepticons under Megatron boarded it. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into a volcano in what would eventually become a desert. The exact location is unknown, but closely resembled the American southwest. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
In the second issue of the Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers manga, the Autobot Headquarters is said to be located in Arizona. The manga acted as a supplement to the television series. Whether this pertains to the English version of the show is debatable.

Crew of the Ark

The Ark's crew consisted of all the 1984 Autobots. A vehicle resembling Grapple's alt-mode and called "Hauler" is also seen shortly after the Autobots revived on Earth and may represent another crew member. Some or all of the 1985 Autobots may also have been crewmembers.

The original crew of the Ark consisted of:

Optimus Prime
Roller
Autobot Cars
Bluestreak
Hound
Ironhide
Jazz
Mirage
Prowl
Ratchet
Sideswipe
Sunstreaker
Trailbreaker
Wheeljack
Hauler
Autobot Mini Vehicles
Brawn
Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Gears
Huffer
Windcharger

A number of Autobots introduced later in the series (Perceptor, Red Alert, etc.) came down with Cybertonium depletion Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 indicating they have been away from Cybertron just as long as the known members of the original Ark crew. This may indicate they were also part of the Ark crew behind the scenes and perhaps not initially repaired by Teletraan I.
Autobot Headquarters

After coming back online, the Decepticons immediately departed. However, the Autobots remained in their crashed ship, which served as their base of operations: Autobot Headquarters.

The ship was severely damaged by the crash and its subsequent entombment; massive rocks were visible inside the ship (whether they penetrated the hull on impact or were formed there later is unclear), and broken and damaged consoles are frequently seen in the background. The ship never flew again. The Autobots seemed to be preparing to re-launch it after the crash of the Decepticon space cruiser, More than Meets the Eye, Part 3 but months later, both the Autobots and the ship remained on Earth. Transport to Oblivion

Over time, the Autobots modified and expanded their base. An elevator provided passage to upper levels within the volcano, Enter the Nightbird and a retractable door sealed off the volcano's crater. Dinobot Island, Part 2 Early on, a small module serving as Ratchet's medical center sat near the main entrance, More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 but was later removed. Explorations by Sideswipe and Brawn revealed a system of caves beyond the ship's walls. The caves revealed a treasure trove of dinosaur bones, which became the inspiration for the Dinobots. S.O.S. Dinobots The base's nerve center was the supercomputer Teletraan I.

The base's geographic location proved a liability on at least two occasions, when Decepticon-induced calamities caused the volcano to become active again. During the first of these eruptions, several Autobots were blasted out of the cone and into the troposphere, requiring Skyfire to come to their rescue. Ironhide managed to bring the eruption to a halt by shooting down some rocks. No, really. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 The system of caves beneath the base also allowed the Constructicons to enter the base from below, in an attempt to destroy Teletraan I. Heavy Metal War Laserbeak was known to use the volcano's crater as an entry/exit point when on spying missions. Divide and Conquer

Autobot Headquarters remained in use in 2005, though it appears to have been supplanted by Autobot City as the Autobots' primary operations center. During Megatron's massive assault on Autobot City in 2005, Autobot Headquarters fell under assault by Menasor and Bruticus. Transformers: The Animated Movie
Jealous of the better mountain headquarters, Matt Trakker s

By 2006, the base had been equipped with a large number of retractable cannons built into the mountainside. They were not enough to save it from destruction at the hands of the giant Decepticon Trypticon, however. A squad of Autobots led by Warpath made a stand against the oncoming city-bot, but were brushed aside. Warpath ordered Teletraan I to activate the automated defenses, but the barrage of cannonfire gave Trypticon only momentary pause. He smashed the guns, then blasted the entire mountain to rubble. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
The distinction between the ship and the headquarters is unclear. The presence of damaged equipment in the base (presumably, damaged when the ship crashed) implies that the Ark and Autobot Headquarters are one and the same. However, the Autobots are consistently shown driving more-or-less directly out of their headquarters through a ground-level passage below the ship. Further, the Ark rests at a high angle from the horizontal, while the inside of Autobot Headquarters is shown with everything upright and normal. While artificial gravity (which the Transformers definitely have) could explain the latter, another explanation might be that Autobot Headquarters is actually a series of remodeled caves within the volcano, adjacent to the ship.

Beast Wars cartoon
The Ark as it appeared in Beast Wars was based upon the general appearance of the Ark from the Generation 1 cartoon, but with some design influences from the U.S.S. Defiant from science fiction series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

According to Optimus Primal, the Ark was built using "die-cast" construction, a lost art by the Beast Wars era.

According to Blackarachnia, the Ark was launched under the command of Optimus Prime, carrying a group of the Autobots' "finest heroes". One of the two copies of the Covenant of Primus was carried aboard. During the voyage, the Ark came under attack by the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet. Decepticon Leader Megatron led a boarding party which attacked the Ark crew. However, both ships were damaged and fell into the gravity well of the nearby planet Earth. The Ark crashed into a semi-active volcano, and the Transformers aboard were sent into emergency stasis lock.

Though Megatron had ostensibly come to prehistoric Earth to look for a massive cache of energon to fuel his war against the Maximal Imperium, he was in reality following instructions recorded by the original Megatron on the Golden Disk from the Voyager space probe. Once on Earth, he apparently found the crash site of the Ark, but buried the entrance to the interior of the volcano. At that point, he had deemed the plan to destroy the deactivated Autobots aboard her and change the outcome of the Great War as a last-chance gamble should he ever be backed into a corner with little hope of escape. Such a situation came to pass while he was a prisoner aboard Ravage's transwarp cruiser, and he convinced the former Decepticon to free him by revealing his plan. The Agenda (Part 2)

After failing to destroy the Maximal base, he traveled to the crash site, where he forced Blackarachnia to deactivate the security systems of Teletraan I and allow him access to the Ark's bridge. Observing that he was walking in the hallowed halls of the past as somebody who was soon to change the very course of history, he flew to the prone form of Optimus Prime and unleashed a torrent of pent-up rage over what he felt was Maximal injustice toward the conquered Predacons. He then fired at Optimus Prime's head, which created a time storm. The Agenda (Part III) Fortunately, the Maximals fixed everything. Optimal Situation

Megatron would later reenter the Ark with a new mission: take the spark of Megatron and merge it with his own. However, Tarantulas betrayed him and set the Ark to self-destruct. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was able to deactivate the overload. Master Blaster

After securing the Nemesis, Megatron attempted to destroy the Ark (along with all the Decepticons inside, which might have destroyed him as well). The Maximals tried to bring the Ark online and use it to fight against the Nemesis, but the engines had been idle for too long. However, using a shuttle housed in the Ark, Rhinox was able to damage the Nemesis and capture Megatron. After sufficient modifications, the shuttle was later used to transport the Maximals home, while the Ark and its sleeping passengers remained in the volcano to begin the Great War eventually. Nemesis Part 2
IDW Beast Wars comics

Razorbeast and his small, temporally displaced group traveled to the Maximal encampment in the volcano in order to obtain tools to repair the transwarp signal booster which they hoped to find in the wreckage of Ravage's transwarp cruiser. Not willing to risk taking something that might be noticed missing from the Axalon's shell, they instead took what they need from the Ark. The Gathering issue 3

Dreamwave Generation 1 comics

The Ark was destroyed in 2004 while Ratchet and Brawn countered a Decepticon attack headed by Starscream and Bruticus. Night of the Combaticons
There is some question as to the Ark's appearance in the Dreamwave continuity, as it is never shown in totality in an actual comic story. Pictures are seen in the final issue of their More than Meets the Eye guide, and there it is drawn to look mostly like the cartoon model (though oddly missing the rear "spoiler"). However, the DK Transformers Ultimate Guide, whose main focus was Dreamwave continuity, gives a cutaway diagram of the Ark drawn in the Marvel Comics style instead, only colored yellow-gold as in the cartoon.
Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comics

The Ark crashed on Earth at some point in the past, leaving the Autobots and Decepticons inside it deactivated. Eventually, the craft was found by the arms trafficker Destro, who passed the information on to the terrorist organization Cobra. Cobra then broke into the Ark, hauled away its dormant passengers, and covered up their tracks so nobody else would discover the ship. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1 Unbeknownst to the humans, their break-in caused the Ark's computer, Teletran-One, to be reactivated. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4 Unfortunately for Cobra, one of their own defected to G.I. Joe and told them all about their findings. The United States government subsequently dug up the Ark, dismantled it, and brought the pieces to Roswell for study. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2

Following the defeat of Cobra and the Decepticons, the government helped the Autobots construct a new Ark with which to return to Cybertron. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6

IDW Generation 1 comics

6.2 million meta-cycles ago, the first legendary vessel to be designated as the Ark was launched from Cybertron under the command of Nova Prime. Its stated mission was to plot a safe passage from the Cybertronian Quadrant of the galaxy through the Benzuli Expanse, though its true mission was Expansion. Twenty-thousand astro-cycles out, it disappeared with all hands lost. Over the eras following its loss, rumor, myth and legend sprang up around the ship, obscuring the few existing facts surrounding its fate. Spotlight: Optimus Prime, Spotlight: Galvatron
This Ark appears in the flashbacks to look a bit like a merging of the older cartoon and Marvel Comics designs.

Known passengers on this first Ark include:

Nova Prime
Cyclonus
Galvatron
Grindcore
Jhiaxus
Scourge
Straxus

Tailgate was also supposed to be on board, but never made it to the launch. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

On his reappearance, Galvatron revealed that the ship disappeared after he intentionally piloted it directly into the anomaly within the Benzuli Expanse, which turned out to be a gateway to a region known as the Dead Universe. Spotlight: Galvatron

In the present day, the fate of the first Ark was one of the "big three" mysteries that Nightbeat liked to dig into in his free time. He eventually got a lead on possible remains of the ship, but it turned out to be a trap specifically set to draw him in. On Gorlam Prime he found wreckage of the correct type and age to come from the ship, and far beneath the surface, he discovered a vast inter-dimensional portal. Before he could dig into the mystery even more, he was overtaken by a strange group of Transformers who captured him and messed with his head, eventually erasing his memory of being there at all. Spotlight: Nightbeat

While Nova Prime's plans for the Expansion failed, the Ark remained in the Dead Universe alongside the wreckage of starships from other universes. Galvatron floated past it when he returned to the strange dimension and met D-Void. Heart of Darkness issue 2

In the modern era, the Autobots utilized numerous ships designated "Ark", each distinguished by a number following the title. Among them were the Ark-12, Ark-17, Ark-19, Ark-27, and Ark-32. The original Ark was retroactively given the designation Ark-1.

The Ark-1 Memorial Grounds were dedicated to the first Ark and its crew. Chaos Theory Part 2 The Autobot Rung had a model of the Ark-1 on his desk. Bullets
Merchandise
Titanium Series

Autobot Shuttle Ark (3-inch Robot Masters, 2006)

The first ever tangible representation of the Ark was a die-cast Titanium figurine at the 3-inch scale. The very forward section was based on the Ark's appearance in the original cartoon, but attached to it is an approximation of the back 2/3s of another space ship, the "Electronic Star Bird" created and sold by Milton Bradley in 1978. [1] Odder yet, the technical information on the back refers to the Marvel Comics Ark's destruction at the hands of Fortress Maximus, and that Ark, as seen above, does not resemble either the cartoon Ark or this toy at all.

The very forward portion of the Titanium is removable, allowing for a more accurate toy. (The most iconic portion of the Ark, the rear engines which were often seen protruding from its rocky resting point on Earth, are not present due to placement of the attachment point.)

More information on the Ark at TFU.info

Diamond Select

Autobot Snow Globe (2007)

The Ark appears as part of the base of this snow globe, mostly embedded in a mountain like in the cartoon. The globe was sculpted by Art Asylum and sold by Diamond Select Toys.

Notes

The Ark was clearly named after the real-world biblical story of Noah's Ark, a seagoing vessel that carried representatives of every animal species on Earth through the Great Flood. With the Beast Wars cartoon adding the Covenant of Primus to the ship's cargo, it could be said to parallel the other biblical Ark as well.
Some Autobot shuttles featured in the Marvel UK stories used the cartoon series' design for the Ark.
A working name for the Ark was "Aunty". This was confirmed by Bob Budiansky at his panel at BotCon 2010.[1]
Also confirmed by Bob Budiansky was that the ship was originally planned to crash into Mount St. Helens rather than Mount St. Hilary.
The ship's Japanese name in supplemental media, "Iacon Bridge", was derived from the translation of the English line "We're nearing the bridge to Iacon. One mega-mile to go.", in which "Bridge" was rendered as the English word and not as a Japanese word. From that line, the Japanese assumed that "Iacon Bridge" referred to the ship. A later reference book uses the term to refer to Iacon itself.