100-Year Starship some way off

I would definitely agree with funding at those levels and as has been mentioned a few other groups are moving forward on their projects. Nuclear is very expensive and if its as expensive or more it will be difficult to sustain/justify at a large scale. But with some funding and experience gained by actually 'doing it' there is a good chance costs will drop and maybe even beat nuclear which would move it into a very serious contender for our future energy source.
Brooks