Is mega-distance space travel really practical?

After all, space isn't a real vacuum. It has objects as big as the entire Universe in it (assuming there is only one universe) and physical objects as small as dust particles. In order to get anywhere in a practical timeframe, a ship would have to be able to travel at some large fraction of the speed of light (a problem I won't even raise here). Suppose you're going along at, say, half the speed of light and you run into a rock the size of a golf ball. It's good-bye spaceship isn't it? And at that speed, would it even be possible to detect and avoid such objects. Let's not even get into gamma ray bursts. While I, like all guys, love to fantasize about space travel, when I really think about it, it's pretty difficult to imagine being able to go any great distance without some sort of fatal catastrophe occurring. At least not without presupposing some kind of fanciful, "pie in the sky" solution like wormholes or "folding space."

So far it has not proven practical. I always thought that it shoots holes in the ideas of ET.

With current technology, no, it's not really feasible. I think the current plan to send a manned craft to Mars in the next 25 or so years is stretching things a bit. Who knows what the future might bring, though?

I believe interstellar space has significantly fewer meteoroids than interplanetary space. And meteoroids as large as a golf ball are exceedingly rare even in interplanetary space.

space travel would be practical but not every plausable because of the problems you state. But with a little spice folding would solve this problem.

It isn't really practical with the technology that we have now. It will be someday. Running into a meteoroid of that size outside of our solar system wouldn't likely happen. Space is much more "empty" in between star systems. Space in between galaxies is so empty that the estimate is there is 1 atom/cubic meter (almost a perfect vacuum). So, I imagine it will be practical one day.

With the technology we have the farthest we could expect to travel would be Mars. That would be like sitting in a SUV for 9 months idling in the dark in Antarctica. Even with your best friend ...How much can a human take? Really have to be into delayed gratification. For those that go you don't dwell on "what am I going to hit on the road?" you just know that the chances are slim to none of that rock and if you survive the first minute than you can fix the problem. That's training. Time will tell. If the Government doesn't have the technology or is on the right track, it will only be time before it comes our way. It is so hard to be patient.