After all the preliminary flight testing by Scaled (air launch using White Knight) and announcements from DARPA, NASA and AFRL going back years targeting 2008 you still think it's not likely? <br /><br />
http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123032226<br /><br />EDIT: interesting article from the Pacific Coast Business Times;<br /><br />
http://www.pacbiztimes.com/index.cfm?go2=articles/wk_011408d<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p><b>Economy<br /><br />VAFB lifts North Santa Barbara Co.<br /><br />By Laura Ritter<br />Special to the Business Times<br />Jan. 14, 2008</b><br /><br />North Santa Barbara County businesspeople touched base with the base on Jan. 7, at an annual luncheon sponsored by Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Lompoc and Santa Maria chambers of commerce.<br /><br />“There is a lot of activity on this base, day in and day out,†said Col. Steve Tanous, who started his third Vandenberg tour by taking command of the 30th Space Wing and the Western Range in March 2007.<br /><br />“Our mission is to defend the United States through the exceptional launch, range, expeditionary and installation operations,†he said. The launch is the visually impressive part, but behind the scenes, each launch requires “the orchestration of hundreds of assets for months in advance to bring [them] to fruition,†he said.<br /><br />Last year, the base hosted eight launches, including the first two Italian space launches.<br /><br />There is potential for 15 to 17 launches this year, including the base’s first Atlas V, several Delta IIs and Minuteman IIIs, and another Italian satellite.<br /><br /><b><font color="yellow">That’s what goes up. Base officials are also excited about what comes down. With its first mission planned for 2008, the X-37B unmanned test vehicle is expected to lau</font></b></p></blockquote> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>