[garindra]

With the addition of Hyperloop, Elon Musk is basically transforming transportation in all possible ranges:

- Short-range (in-city, cross-city): Tesla

- Medium-range/long-range (cross-state, possibly cross-country & cross-continent): Hyperloop

- Ultra-long-range (cross-planetary, possibly cross-galactic): SpaceX

[Uchikoma]

"possibly cross-galactic"

Hyperbole? Or do you know something about the physics of cross-galactic travel that the rest of us don't?

[jlgreco]

Bring back Project Orion and generation ships to alpha centauri become feasible, just hard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsi...

I don't know of anyone that is seriously looking at Orion anymore though. I suspect that whatever will eventually take us there will be to Orion as the Flying Scotsman is to Hero's Engine.

[qxcv]

A trip to Alpha Centauri would be decidedly intra-galactic; the distance from the Sun to the edge of our galaxy is on the order of 4300 times the distance from the Sun to Alpha Centauri.

[jlgreco]

Yes, calling it "cross" galactic would certainly be stretching the definition of "cross". Though I suppose a "cross country" race is across the "countryside" though not across the country. ;)

[Anon84]

Interstellar?

[javert]

What is the best term for inter-solar-system travel? (Or, is that the best term?)

[jlgreco]

"Interstellar" probably. Between the stars.

[yk]

Judging from the last two space operas i have read, the fashion is sending transhumans on single generation ships ( and playing with internal clocks to manage the subjective boredom).

And there are certainly a few people looking at interstellar travel. A great blog about this is

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/

[jlgreco]

Charles Stross's (HN: cstross) Accelerando has a nice treatment of this.

I think Orion ships are something that we could attempt to start building today though, no need to wait until the singularity.

[eshvk]

I would be more intrigued how Hyperloop would play as a competing technology vs Tesla for short range commutes say SF to San Jose. Would hyperloop be discouraged for such "short-range" routes because Tesla could then pick up the slack? Or would they assume that those who used Hyperloop were probably never going to buy a car?

[garindra]

I don't think Tesla would worry for Hyperloop in the case of SF-to-SJ type commutes -- BART and Caltrain would probably be the ones who should worry. In fact in the US, I don't think there'd be a case where Tesla would worry about Hyperloop at all, as it's pretty car-driven culturally and architecturally -- people in general are walking-averse and still need cars to get to places that are between "stations". It might be different in other places like Europe or Asia though.