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First, let's note that there may be two or three somewhat different versions of that story. Quoting the ISFDB:

First, let's note that there may be two or three somewhat different versions of that story. Quoting the ISFDB:

I suppose the 1954 book was an expanded version of the 1950 serial. I have no idea if the text of the 2004 book (the one you read, I presume) is from the 1950 serial or the 1954 book or contains further revisions. Unfortunately I don't have either of the books on hand. This answer is based on the 1950 serial, which is available at the Internet Archive, in the February 1950 and March 1950 issues of Astounding Science Fiction. Maybe some revisions in the book you read invalidate my answer, though I'm inclined to doubt that. [Never mind! See postscript below. I forgot there's a thing called "Google Books". It's the same trip in 2004 as it was in 1950.] All quotations below are from the February 1950 ASF, page references and links provided so you can view them in context.

p. 35, column 2 — p. 36, column 1:

The answer to your question is that, at least in the original serial, Alan Corday's first voyage on the Hound of Heaven aka the Flea Circus was not a simple round trip to Alpha Centauri, and in fact the error seems to be in the other direction; with stops at Betelgeuse and "Other Ports of Call", he should have been gone for much longer than 60 years. Here the author states correctly that a round trip to Alpha Centauri would take less than 10 years Earth time:

page, 16, column 1:

page 11, column 1:

I suppose the 1954 book was an expanded version of the 1950 serial. I have no idea if the text of the 2004 book (the one you read, I presume) is from the 1950 serial or the 1954 book or contains further revisions. Unfortunately I don't have either of the books on hand. This answer is based on the 1950 serial, which is available at the Internet Archive, in the February 1950 and March 1950 issues of Astounding Science Fiction. Maybe some revisions in the book you read invalidate my answer, though I'm inclined to doubt that. [Never mind! See postscript below. I forgot there's a thing called "Google Books". It's the same trip in 2004 as it was in 1950.] All quotations below are from the February 1950 ASF, page references and links provided so you can view them in context.

p. 35, column 2 — p. 36, column 1:

The answer to your question is that, at least in the original serial, Alan Corday's first voyage on the Hound of Heaven aka the Flea Circus was not a simple round trip to Alpha Centauri, and in fact the error seems to be in the other direction; with stops at Betelgeuse and "Other Ports of Call", he should have been gone for much longer than 60 years. Here the author states correctly that a round trip to Alpha Centauri would take less than 10 years Earth time:

page, 16, column 1:

page 11, column 1:

also appears in a Google Books copy of the 2004 edition, with nothing changed from 1950 except for correcting the misspelling of Betelgeuse. So thdere's your in-story explanation: they did not just fly from Earth to Alpha Centauri and back.

also appears in a Google Books copy of the 2004 edition, with nothing changed from 1950 except for correcting the misspelling of Betelgeuse. So there's your in-story explanation: they did not just fly from Earth to Alpha Centauri and back.