I believe space has zero gravity, but is is really absolutely zero? If not surely there would a significant G-force on the whole unit at such acceleration levels? Wouldn't want to be designing this unit if that were true!

Good article and that's a novel way of creating anti-matter. This is an area of science that has always intrigued me, because I'd love for us to travel to other stars.
I knew that anti-matter would be the means, since it's real and doable while other ideas like traveling through wormholes, are just in the realm of fantasy. But why would they need huge solar panels as an energy source to generate anti-matter particles?
Why not use nuclear reactors preferably thorium based or fusion if they require more energy, once that technology matures? The ideas are out there, we can do this-with the right amount of funding and putting the best minds to work on it. What could be greater than having humans discover other potential earth-like planets and colonizing them or making space travel routine.
With the trillions of stars and planets in the universe out there, it's a pity that we can't as yet visit even a few of them. But if the will and money was there, it could be done.

VARIES will need to have a strong magnetic-gravitational field around the craft to protect it, otherwise high radiation zones and big chunky things, as well as those nasty "dust motes", will be too hazardous for any hull.
Also, keeping a constant 1G environment in the craft at all times, even past light speed, would be handy, and even crucial, for a crew.
Nuclear engineer MT Keshe of the Keshe Foundation says he has figured out the above problems, by creating artificial gravity using fields. He is planning speedy spacecrafts and other vehicles that work by magnetic-gravitational positioning: http://www.keshefoundation.org/en/applications/space warning: much of this will seem utterly unbelievable...

I wonder if it is possible to reach the destination and then beem back the data to eath. This would greatly cut down on the round trip time required get results.

Here we have somebody who is at least on the border of scientifcally respectable suggesting using devices based on the laws of physics as we know them to break the laws of physics as we know them, and nobody seems in any way concerned. He is proposing "creating" antimatter to provide enough energy to achieve adequately short trip times by 'summoning it up' from 'empty' space and expending less energy in the process than he gains as a result. Conservation of energy (and a few other "laws" as well) would be quietlyt pushed aside if this were to prove possible. Which suggests ...

@Mark Lombardi
I think it was recently discovered that radio emissions made by Earth dissolve before they ever can reach even the closest star. So the old idea that aliens from another star are watching Hitler reels or episodes of The Honeymooners is out the window. Recent advancements in laser technology might make it possible to send some kind of message from that kind of distance though. Still, the problem of communication might solve itself before the ship were to ever be built.

Livin the dream: If you accelerate in space, you create a force, similar to gravity, just created by acceleration, not mass. Accelerating at 1G would feel like being on the surface of Earth and you could reach the speed of light in a bit more than 1 year, unless there is a real constraint to acceleration in the Universe, as predicted by Einstein.

@mrfixitrick, please don't post that scam artists website (keshe) anywhere near scientific articles. He has tickets to the moon to sell you. I have a bridge I can sell you...

Whatever happenned to good ol'fashioned DiLithium Crystal Annihilation power? I guess i'm out of touch with the new generation. Seriously, isn't this a half-assed attempt to get funding for something that will never achieve any tangible results, not require any accountability, basically to be paid by the Government (that's US...) to smoke dope and dream? Want to make something that would be REALLY cool? Try concentrating on Fussion power. At least THAT seems attainable and would benefit Mankind in THIS millenium. @ Mike Lombardi: The problem with making random interstellar phonecalls is you never know who might pick up the phone. Not so sure I want our galactic address being posted randomly on the Universal Net.

I'd have to say that this is good scifi for sure. I'll also take a transporter, holodeck, and replicator.... maybe some day. But yah, spending money on anything as remotely far fetched as this is right now, would be stoopider than spending more money on defense. Might as well combine the two and build an intergalactic warship for when the other guys stop by for a visit.