Space travel is certainly exotic and dangerous, but not to the extent that you've been led to believe in various heretical publications. If the interstellar ships are so rare and the trip so fraught with danger, it would mean that any interstellar commercial activity is impossible. How can you have entire worlds more or less dedicated to agriculture or mining if transporting their harvests is costly or dangerous? Indeed, if interstellar society is to function, travel between the stars (and by extent getting stuff into or down from orbit) must be cheap enough and safe enough to be commonplace.

The end result is that hauling cargo through space is much like hauling cargo across the oceans of the Earth today – slow, cumbersome, but cheap - and quite safe. Well, maybe not quite that safe; perhaps the ships that ply the void should rather be compared to the sailing ships of earlier ages, more at the mercy of the elements and with less ability to utilize such things as wireless communication and radar. So just picture that; enormous freight haulers carrying millions and millions of tons of cargo, slowly making their way through real space to reach their jump points (sailing within sight of land) and then making the transition into the immaterial ocean of the Immaterium (sailing on the high seas, out sight of land and dependent on currents and wind patterns).

We have then established that space travel for commercial gain is common enough and cheap enough to warrant not only the transportation of exotic and low-bulk commodities, but the wholesale transportation of bulk goods and even raw materials. That said; space travel is still only something most people only hear about. They do not travel unless they have a compelling reason to do so. Tourism is not really a factor, so unless they have reason to travel because of their work, the most compelling reason to go into space is to go on a pilgrimage. Indeed, the average hive-worlder never even sees the sky, let alone get onto a starship to travel to other worlds!

One final note; although it is rarely mentioned (probably because the Navigator Houses would rather keep feeding perception that they are needed) a starship can cross the Warp just fine without a navigator aboard. Well, maybe not 'fine', but it can be done. But such a ship is limited to short jumps (a handful of light years) and the chance of a mishap or getting thrown of course is somewhat higher. This is what a lot of local vessels have to make do with, as well as those of many lesser alien races – they don't have any navigators do they?

Green Knights Chapter Adeptus Astartes Battle Barge Glorious Retribution here seen in orbit over Protasia. Battle Barges such as this one are marvels of ancient technology. Also note the cavernous launch bays on either side of the vessel, ideal of launching squadrons of Thunderhawks and support craft. Smaller Astartes Strike Cruisers look like slender versions of the Battle Barges.