When will we have Spaceships

Dodge: I wonder how long it will take us to advance to a level where we can planet hop as much as we please.

workingman_1983: I really dont know. But if the big five would merge there space programs. So that all there resources were combined it could be alot sooner. The way its going know it will be the private sector that actually developes a propulsion system.

john1576: What makes you think there are none? N.A.S.A. are said to have a Space Plane along the lines of Sir Richard Branson's, only twice as big. It is a 'Black Programme' so no news about it is released, only rumours on the Web. If Sir Richard can build a crude Space Plane for near Earth Space Hops, imagine what N.A.S.A. has under wraps................

warehouseman: We have them now.

workingman_1983: Really? If so i can see the benifits of keeping it under wraps. but the question is can they travel to other worlds. And if so are they capable of travel beyond the solar system?

otcclass2008: With the way the government keeps on cutting NASA's budget we will more than likely never have space travel. Just all depends on what the government feels worthy; the education of humans in the way of space travel or the continuation of the unnecessary war we are going through.

yk23: hey whats the point of going to building spaceships to travel other planets if it is not live-able?
wouldnt it be a waste of time and money?

otcclass2008: YK:
There are other reasons to travel to new worlds besides just finding new life forms..... I will just let you think upon the answer and see if you can come up with it yourself if you can....

yk23: i meant live-able to say that humans cannot live there
i was not talking about living forms

yk23: ill let u find good reasons for why we should build spaceships so we can go to other planets
if u can...

Bat__B0y: We need to get rid of organised religion before we can evolve ideas on that kind of level.

otcclass2008: Batboy:
true, we do need to get rid of most human entrapments before we can travel the cosmos and learn what needs to be learned out there.

Nosferatu: you guys can go to Saturn. I'll stay here on this somewhat peaceful (except tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes) planet.

Acer_mr: maybe in the future .

Kuffufin: "The question to ask is whether the risk of traveling to space is worth the benefit. The answer is an unequivocal yes, but not only for the reasons that are usually touted by the space community: the need to explore, the scientific return, and the possibility of commercial profit. The most compelling reason, a very long-term one, is the necessity of using space to protect Earth and guarantee the survival of humanity."
William E. Burrows, The Wall Street Journal, 2003

PerpetualDreamer: Space travel has its potential. However, I have not heard a theory for escaping the limitation of slower then light travel. Without faster-than-light space travel, simply getting a manned ship to Mars is a serious problem. The last time frame I saw, it would take three years to get to Mars. It would require having the ship leave at a specific time during planetary orbits to lessen travel time. It would also need a ship with artificial gravity to make the three year journey. Has anything plausible been published since the mid nineties that indicates any of this has been compensated for? I would love links.