You need an opposite motion to slow your ship down.

I have to assume we passed through the same area on the way out, and it sure would be handy to have the collected sensor data to know what kind of gas cloud and raw material are available to us.

If there are large hydrogen(or other burn/explode able) gases cloud in front of you, you could explode them to create reverse thrust.

Blackholes,suns, and anything with exceptional grativy would also have useful gravitational effects. You would have to precisely plot a course that puts you close enough to the event horizon/center of gravity for a long enough period, so you have just enough escape velocity to safely leave the blackhole.

1. Assuming we have strong metal cables or similar and pipes.

First you need to start sucking in as much space matter as you can safely without blowing up the ship, more mass less speed. Maybe like a window screen and then put a vacuum hose out to suck the mass in.

Then start harpooning (cables and pipes if necessary) asteroids moving slower than you, but not so slow or fast that you wreck your ship. It will be a game of create drag and release before a dangerous amount of force builds up. Obviously the head of the harpoon will have to expand to lock on and contract to release which should be well within the ability of science.

Meanwhile, the universe has tremendous amount of hydrogen and other burnable gasses. You can rig a rudimentary system that send the collected gas out the pipe and ignite it in front of the ship. This also would be an opposite force slowing the ship down further.

Maybe you could also exploit gravitational sling shooting in reverse to slow you down.

Also if you could magnetize the hull or a box you pull behind the ship, it to would lock onto passing masses and help slow you down. Gathering more and more mass. If it locks onto something too strongly and the forces created endanger the structural integrity of the ship, you can turn the magnet off for a second.

Finally, I would have some kind of net system to catch and slow down as the other person said.

You need an opposite motion to slow your ship down.

I have to assume we passed through the same area on the way out, and it sure would be handy to have the collected sensor data to know what kind of gas cloud and raw material are available to us.

If there are large hydrogen(or other burn/explode able) gases cloud in front of you, you could explode them to create reverse thrust.

Anything with exceptional gravity would also have useful gravitational effects. You would have to precisely plot a course that puts you close enough to the enter of gravity for a long enough period, so you have just enough escape velocity to escape.

1. Assuming we have strong metal cables or similar and pipes.

First you need to start sucking in as much space matter as you can safely without blowing up the ship, more mass less speed. Maybe like a window screen and then put a vacuum hose out to suck the mass in.

Then start harpooning (cables and pipes if necessary) asteroids moving slower than you, but not so slow or fast that you wreck your ship. It will be a game of create drag and release before a dangerous amount of force builds up. Obviously the head of the harpoon will have to expand to lock on and contract to release which should be well within the ability of science.

Meanwhile, the universe has tremendous amount of hydrogen and other burnable gasses. You can rig a rudimentary system that send the collected gas out the pipe and ignite it in front of the ship. This also would be an opposite force slowing the ship down further.

Maybe you could also exploit gravitational sling shooting in reverse to slow you down.

Also if you could magnetize the hull or a box you pull behind the ship, it to would lock onto passing masses and help slow you down. Gathering more and more mass. If it locks onto something too strongly and the forces created endanger the structural integrity of the ship, you can turn the magnet off for a second.

Finally, I would have some kind of net system to catch and slow down as the other person said.

You need an opposite motion to slow your ship down.

I have to assume we passed through the same area on the way out, and it sure would be handy to have the collected sensor data to know what kind of gas cloud and raw material are available to us.

If there are large hydrogen(or other burn/explode able) gases cloud in front of you, you could explode them to create reverse thrust.

Blackholes would also have useful gravitational effects. You would have to precisely plot a course that puts you close enough to the event horizon for a long enough period, so you have just enough escape velocity to safely leave the blackhole.

1. Assuming we have strong metal cables or similar and pipes.

First you need to start sucking in as much space matter as you can safely without blowing up the ship, more mass less speed. Maybe like a window screen and then put a vacuum hose out to suck the mass in.

Then start harpooning (cables and pipes if necessary) asteroids moving slower than you, but not so slow or fast that you wreck your ship. It will be a game of create drag and release before a dangerous amount of force builds up. Obviously the head of the harpoon will have to expand to lock on and contract to release which should be well within the ability of science.

Meanwhile, the universe has tremendous amount of hydrogen and other burnable gasses. You can rig a rudimentary system that send the collected gas out the pipe and ignite it in front of the ship. This also would be an opposite force slowing the ship down further.

Maybe you could also exploit gravitational sling shooting in reverse to slow you down.

Also if you could magnetize the hull or a box you pull behind the ship, it to would lock onto passing masses and help slow you down. Gathering more and more mass. If it locks onto something too strongly and the forces created endanger the structural integrity of the ship, you can turn the magnet off for a second.

Finally, I would have some kind of net system to catch and slow down as the other person said.

You need an opposite motion to slow your ship down.

I have to assume we passed through the same area on the way out, and it sure would be handy to have the collected sensor data to know what kind of gas cloud and raw material are available to us.

If there are large hydrogen(or other burn/explode able) gases cloud in front of you, you could explode them to create reverse thrust.

Blackholes,suns, and anything with exceptional grativy would also have useful gravitational effects. You would have to precisely plot a course that puts you close enough to the event horizon/center of gravity for a long enough period, so you have just enough escape velocity to safely leave the blackhole.

1. Assuming we have strong metal cables or similar and pipes.

First you need to start sucking in as much space matter as you can safely without blowing up the ship, more mass less speed. Maybe like a window screen and then put a vacuum hose out to suck the mass in.

Then start harpooning (cables and pipes if necessary) asteroids moving slower than you, but not so slow or fast that you wreck your ship. It will be a game of create drag and release before a dangerous amount of force builds up. Obviously the head of the harpoon will have to expand to lock on and contract to release which should be well within the ability of science.

Meanwhile, the universe has tremendous amount of hydrogen and other burnable gasses. You can rig a rudimentary system that send the collected gas out the pipe and ignite it in front of the ship. This also would be an opposite force slowing the ship down further.

Maybe you could also exploit gravitational sling shooting in reverse to slow you down.

Also if you could magnetize the hull or a box you pull behind the ship, it to would lock onto passing masses and help slow you down. Gathering more and more mass. If it locks onto something too strongly and the forces created endanger the structural integrity of the ship, you can turn the magnet off for a second.

Finally, I would have some kind of net system to catch and slow down as the other person said.