Whats the saying? 'There is less than 5 people alive at any one time that can fully understand relativity'?

Even if he has managed to solve perfectly the equations surrounding gravitational fields of objects moving at significant fractions of the speed of light (which I take with a grain of salt, the fact it is claimed to be true is meaningless), with NASA at the helm of our species interstellar expansion I would say the implications of this technology is zero.

Why spend billions of dollars extra getting an object close to a star, when you could spend zero dollars extra and have it plod its way onwards.

You think NASA is going to be interested in anything other than unmanned probes for the next 500 years? You think any individual is going to be able to afford to fund this kind of technology?

Space exploration is dead. Vive La Revolution.

Event Horizon,

The space program via NASA was dead back in 1986, when the challenger blew up. NASA has never been the hope of space migration, and anyone who has been a space enthusiast has known this since Space Colonies were first designed by Gerald K O'Neill. No, space migration will happen for commercial reasons, the moment it become *profitable* to go there. Already, going to sub-orbit is profitable, which is why Sir Richard Branson, Paul Allen and other venture capitalist have invested over $200 million into it with SpaceShip Two. Not to mention the implications of a working Space Elevator and advance nanotech materials.

Again, I have to re-iterate to you Event Horizon, that you REALLY need to read all the archives of Future Hi before commenting, this way your commentary is informed. If you have, you will see that there are over 50 articles on Space alone. These articles go into a lot of detail about the sustainable and practical pathways to space. Space migration is an inevitability within the next 30 years, short of a global catastrophe. If you do the catchup reading I'm recommending you will see how breakthroughs like these have a real, tangible, and eventually huge economic potential to humanity.

In this case, if he has indeed discovered a way to accelerate close to the speed of light with the very low energies he discusses, we are talking about a quantum leap cheaper means of travelling at close to speed of light velocities.

Paul, apart from tourism for the uber rich, the only realistic 'profit' to be gained from outer space is resources. But its far easier to plunder Earth at this particular time, not to mention vastly less expensive. Thus Branson and his short hops out of the atmosphere are an insult, not a progressive step.

Offworld fuel production, food production, resource harvesting and construction. These are the 'realistic' reasons for going into space, and not for profit but to prevent forced abortion or state required euthenasia in the not too distant future.

Even at lightspeed its what? 100,000 years to Proxima Centauri? Lets learn to walk before attempting to colonise the Universe.

There are very real reasons, very scary, very big and powerful reasons why space exploration and extra terrestrial resource utilisation is of absolute necessity to the Human Race. These do not require big expensive 'quantum leaps'. If I had to by a motor car, im sure a Ford would be a better idea than a Ferrari?

An interesting development in the quest for true interstellar travel ability, sure. Useful in the near future? Only if some guy/institution with one eye on the public press wants to the do the equivelent of a summersault into some pool infront of his mates on holiday.

I hope, and pray, that some day soon we have the ability to use somewhere else rather than Earth as our garbage tip and storage and containment vessel for our poisonous by-products of our technological and industrial civilisation. Real plans, real thought, real progress, not a bunch of Western and Eastern tourists floating about for a while, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to be able to snap pictures of Earth with their sony digital cameras.

Plans for space expansion, yes there are some, unmanned drilling rigs, and the potential of nanotechnology in this area is immense. I see you feature Ian M Banks on this site, perhaps you might like to take a look at Stephen Baxter. Untill then I shall go read your archives, and look for some information on the internet that isnt some sickening display of wealth and power, or some over hyped 'discovery' regarding space exploration.

Peace.
Eventhorizen

Hi, this is my first time posting to Future Hi, although I've been reading the site for many months. Until I see some more on the story, I'll be somewhat skeptical about the theoretical basis for the anti-gravity idea. But in any case, such a technology would be quite valuable to space exploration right here in the Sol system.

Traveling to other star systems isn't that vital at the moment. But if we have light-speed propulsion, we could dramitically cut down the travel time to planets right here in our home system. That would definitly make space exploration financially feasable. Instead of taking months and years to get around, we could make trips to the outer solar system in days and weeks.

By the way, at light speed it would take about 4 years to reach Alpha Centauri, not 100,000. It's only 4.3 light years away.

And remember that when your moving at lightspeed, from your own point of view no time will have passed when you arrive at your destination.

I'm happy that all of these science fictiony breakthroughs are coming so soon. I'm hoping that the pace of these continue to accelerate as these ideas inspire and lay the ground work for even odder ones. But the fruits of these labours are a long way off unless there is a revolution in construction, such as Nanotech.

Thanks Cisco. I was about to make the same observation that the nearby Centauri star systems (Proxima and Alpha) are both only a tad over 4 light years. So that, if one is actually travelling AT light-speed, then an Earth clock would measure the travel time as approx. 4 yrs, and about 3.5 months. And the travellers themselves would experience the trip as more-or-less instantaneous!!

EventHorizon, darlin', I cherish your posts--please keep on posting. But please do your homework and get the facts (scientific and/or otherwise) right...

As much as I tend to loathe collective-action projects, it might behoove us to have an international Apollo-type program both for an Immortality Project AND and robo/nano-topia project. That is, two, but not completely unrelated, projects to (1) bring about sustainable SENS (stabilzed negligible senescence) for EVERYONE, and (2) a project to instantiate total robotic- and nano-cybernation **A.S.A.P.** Such projects wouldn't necessarily abrogate the free-market, but would merely help concentrate funds toward those two goals. Some might say (I would, every other Tuesday!!) that it would be a Public Choice nightmare, but, then again, it might be manageable with the right feedback loops built-in. Of course, as RAW might say, this is a perfectly reasonable set of proposals, and therefore will be met--remember, we still inhabit the Planet of the (Naked) Apes--with disdain and incredulity by the (so-called) ruling elites...(Oh well...)

Paul, EventHorizon is right in the short- to medium-run, but that's OK. That's the expensive-innovation(s)/first-adopters/rich-take-the-lead thing. Nanotech--I mean hell, just Bucky-ball and nanotube tech, not even "full-blown" nanotech--will, as, Paul, you pointed-out about a month or two ago in one of your recent flury posts--will tend to cause cost-per-payload to plummet. Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO's) vehicles, as well as nanotube/nanofilament-facilitated Space Tethers and Space Elevators will make, not just space "tourism", but space robotic-cybernation feasible. Orbiting facilities which will have nothing other to do than to produce-as-specified just about whatever humanity wants. Space-based (i.e., initially, orbital) nano-factories will be the coming thing---but we now need to start thinking about how to destribute such abundance, how to make sure that it is not weaponized, as distinguished from sophisticated defensive active-shields, etc.

EventHorizon, some of your concerns are spot-on, in the short-to-medium run. That's why I've been yelling (so to speak)--seemingly almost Mosaicly in the Wilderness--about how we have to take advantage of the next 10-20 years to become both better-informed and very active in seeking to make sure that the social/political/legal instiutions are in place to handle all this stuff!!!

EventHorizon, if you haven't done so, please also read Drexler's *Engine of Creation* and it's sequal, *Unbounding the Future*. And, on the Immortalist meme, check out also Alvin Silverstien's 1979 **classic**: **Conquest of Death**. He rebuts most deathist memes rather well...

Have a great weekend, y'all...!!!...