Good news, bad news.

[Docfeelgood]

I have tried this once before, but instead of just saying 'It's too hard' or 'it can't be done', lets disscuss how it could actually be done. How do you get to another star? What would it take? What do we need to do?

Some friendly space aliens who would be willing to share some advance technology.

[Donegeal]

The space aliens may or may not be there (ok, yes it's inevitable that there are space aliens (friendly or otherwise), but we clearly seem to be the only one's in this area sufficently advanced), so let's take them out of the equation and just rely on Humans.

[Docfeelgood]

We are SOL then. It will be a loooong time before we are able to send people beyond our solar system.
Even to send a probe today I would not be alive to see it get there.

[PLATO]

We are SOL then. It will be a loooong time before we are able to send people beyond our solar system.
Even to send a probe today I would not be alive to see it get there.

Your bones will be dust before our first probes get anywhere:

The Voyagers have enough electrical power and thruster fuel to operate at least until 2020. By that time, Voyager 1 will be 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion KM) from the Sun and Voyager 2 will be 10.5 billion miles (16.9 billion KM) away. Eventually, the Voyagers will pass other stars. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass 1.7 light-years (9.7 trillion miles) from the star Ross 248 and in about 296,000 years, it will pass 4.3 light-years (25 trillion miles) from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky . The Voyagers are destined—perhaps eternally—to wander the Milky Way.

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar.html

[Docfeelgood]

Your bones will be dust before our first probes get anywhere:



http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar.html

knew it was a long time but................

[PLATO]

knew it was a long time but................

As Billy Bob Thorton said..."Begging your pardon sir, but its a big damn sky."

[Donegeal]

If we were to send a probe to this star, it will go significantly faster than anything we currently have. And the nice thing about probes is they can accelerate faster and don't have to slow down/stop like a ship carrying people. Based on Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (NPP) speed projections, we'd probably be able to get a probe there in about a century. Of course, a NPP probe would be so expensive it might be just a feasible to send a colony.

[N35t0r]

NPP is currently illegal.

[Donegeal]

Well, it is, technically. By the Nuclear Test Ban treaty from the 1960's. It killed the research into Project Orion. I'm not all that familier with international law, but is there any kind time limit to a treaty that was signed by at least one defunct country?