I'm replying to the original post because unfortunately, I didn't have time to read all the responses.
@TooGeek2bChic I agree with you about the dire situation and I'm mainly concerned with another meteorite collision. It will probably not fully end us, but the consequences will be devastating.
On the other hand, long-range space travel (or space-time travel, if you wish) is something that looks not achievable very soon unless we discover something revolutionary, and it could be something which is not directly related.
So, in my imagination, here come the two next important stages of our evolution (can we still call it evolution when self-imposed?) and these two things are in my opinion inevitable, I'm just not sure which one would happen first but I guess I got the order right;
- a global program to improve our genome in different aspects, to make us more intelligent, more healthy, less damaging to the environment and each other > this will help us to achieve the "one global administration" we badly need.
- a global connection of our brains on a pre communication level. > this will turn us into one single, very powerful hive mind.
I think these two will happen much sooner than practical interstellar travel becomes possible and they will eventually help us achieve that goal which is to spread the blessing/curse of humankind around the known universe.
There is another possibility that someone mentioned which involves other dimensions/universes and I haven't been able to see enough nonfictional work about it but a possibility is something that can surprise us anytime and drastically change the course of events.