If you want to go it alone and build your own spacecraft, it is worth
looking at http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9606/Bormanis-9606.html before
you pick up your hammer and nails. The page lists the vital properties to look
out for in your building materials.

Some organisations are already making practical preparations for the day when
you can pop off to Alpha Centauri in time for tea. The Interstellar Propulsion
Society details its aims at http://www.tyrian.com/IPS/ index.html and has
collected support from an impressive range of scientists.

The First Millennial Foundation at http://www.millennial.org/ claims to have
already set up a colony in space—well, cyberspace, but it’s a start.