WHAT (and how long), would it take to make Alpa Centauri

[Niri Te]

There is a 21 minute film that is long on the Science, and short on the fiction, at:

Voyage to Pandora: First Interstellar Space Flight - YouTube

Give it a look, I think that you would enjoy it, even if you know most of the material presented.
Niri Te

[mikkowilson]

Well, that was interesting.

A little sensationalized of course; but a fun mix of information and postulation.

- Mikko

[Human No More]

Interesting enough, but a little content-free, I think, or maybe I was just expecting more on the theoretical side.

Still, a good watch.

Also, he likes analogies with Saturn's orbital distance

[Moco Loco]

This video for some reason isn't loading when I pause it. The soundtrack and narrator really bother me, also. Sorry I don't have more comprehensive opinions

[Sempu]

The best study I ever saw for interstellar travel was, believe it or not, done by the British Interplanetary Society in the '70s. They produced a book called "Project Daedalus" about an unmanned, undecelerated flyby of Barnard's Star. The quality was first-rate: they designed every aspect of the mission, including the aerostats that would be needed to mine the helium-3 needed for propulsion from the atmosphere of Jupiter, and extrapolating when the world's GDP would reach the point where it could finance the mission. It sounds outlandish but it's some of the best engineering I've ever seen. The book should still be available. I believe it ended up taking 50 years in transit (12 light years to target).