Star Wars and Star Trek Featured 'Light Speed Travel.' Is It Possible in Real Life?

Spaceships zipping at the speed of light or faster are a staple of science fiction. “A ‘warp drive’ technology is principally envisioned to speed up transportation in deep space,” Lentz said. “It can be used to enhance current ambitions for interplanetary and interstellar travel by drastically shortening travel times and widening mission windows.” The nearest star beyond our solar system is Proxima Centauri, located 4.25 light years – the distance it takes light to travel in a year – away. Using traditional rocket fuel, it would take about 50,000 to 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri, and nuclear propulsion with proposed technology would get there in about 100 years, Lentz said. Lentz’s blueprint envisions above-light-speed travel, which “holds the potential for one-way and round-trip distant interstellar travel within a human lifetime.” “If we are limited to traveling at sub-light speed, then multi-generational spaceships must be used for destinations beyond the nearest stars, which is basically a glorified burial casket for at least the first generation of people.