Despite the controversy over the long history of UFO sightings and the seeming cover-up by the governments of the world, we do have some key scientific clues to how interstellar travel could be achieved in a meaningful way. If one goes by the Frank Drake Equation, the sheer mathematical possibility at the very minimum would be overwhelming going by N = R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L*. This translated into practical terms would mean that a  very tiny percentage of the known celestial bodies would have life supporting solar systems approximately 1/10,000^th of one percent which would still provide for an incredible number of life accommodating stars and planets in the Milky Way Galaxy alone.

A problem of physics

There’s only one problem this single galaxy is 100,000 light years across! It would take tens of thousands of years simply for a craft traveling just under the speed of light, but there’s another problem. According to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity as an object approaches the speed of light it becomes infinitely heavier and denser changing shape and becoming aerodynamically unviable! So, trying to achieve the speed of light is impractical. In the 1960’s NASA developed a spacecraft designed to achieve the speed of light with a nuclear form of propulsion that used a reactor tethered to the vehicle by a shaft, presumably to cut back on radioactive exposure to the vehicle itself. The project was cancelled though for cost overruns and scientific limitations.

What if?

While I was attempting to complete a UFO documentary for local cable TV and working with the US Air Force, a UFO abductee group, and Junior College astronomer, the question of overcoming distance came up along with the possibility of intercepting a UFO. The astronomer, a Christian, who thought that creationism provided for similar life forms to be originated by the God in different parts of the universe, but that due to the titanic distances in space, intelligent civilizations would never meet. Also, he expressed great concern over what he described as the possibility of an international incident or even war started by a misidentified UFO where some hot shot fighter pilot makes an air to air kill of a foreign military aircraft mistaken as a UFO! As a matter of fact, the possibility scared the hell out of him!

Preferred type of drive

However, there is a provision in scientific theory for a form of propulsion that could indeed close the distance between us and another civilization that is consistent with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity! The idea of a worm hole, a warping of time and space, if generated technologically, would work. A craft would simply disappear from point A and reappear at point B. In order to achieve this the craft would have to generate enough energy to make the equivalent of an artificial miniature black hole that the vehicle would be continually falling into and time and space would warp in relativity to the position of the spacecraft! We know from Einstein and from astronomical observations that gravity can warp time, the fabric of space, and even light when gravity is as strong as that of a black hole.

The elusive need for energy

Science fiction writers as well as researchers themselves have postulated that the most advanced civilizations would succeed in distant space travel by being able to create the greatest sources of energy! We, of humankind are just now arriving on that threshold! The creation of plasma suspended in a magnetic field by blasting a central point with multiple lasers is one way of creating massive amounts of energy, within a small confined space using existing technology! But, how to convert this pioneering form of fuel for warp speed wormhole travel is yet to be contrived!

Who are they and have they been here already?

This brings us to the problem of determining are UFO’s real, hallucinatory, time travelers, inter dimensional entities, or demonic? John A. Keel proposed that they all came from the same mysterious source. And, have we already been visited by advanced intelligent beings, but have failed to realize it despite efforts by Erich Van Daniken or Zecharia Sitchin exploring the realm of “Ancient Astronauts”. Could there even be a secret alliance with an alien civilization that has already secretly shared technology with the US as far back as President Eisenhower who was forced to strike a deal with the extraterrestrials at a cost? The sacrifice of allowing a number of unsuspecting people to be abducted on the condition of being returned. The late Bud Hopkins had explored this angle through his regressive hypnosis sessions with abductees. Only time will tell.