I watched part of the piece on CNN this morning, just as the main plane was taking off. It was interesting that there were people dressed in military uniforms in the background, like they were guarding the site. They seemed to be carrying weapons.

Which leads me to wonder if there isn't more to this than meets the eye. I recall that Howard Hughes had a ship built in the 1970's, the Glomar Explorer, that was supposed to be looking to mine mineral nodules from the ocean floor. At least, that is what the press claimed at the time, and there was substantial press. It turned out later that the real purpose of this vessel was to try to lift a sunken Russian nuclear sub from the ocean floor. The other story was a cover story, and the CIA and Hughes were working together.

http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/jennifer.htm

Anyhow, seeing the military in the background made me wonder about this mission. I don't know what the military's interest would be, but the phrase "hiding something in plain site" comes to mind, which is what the Glomar Explorer was up to.

They mentioned the cost being in the 20 to 50 million dollar range. It this technology does become available commercially (and prices would drop with commercialization) it would come comfortably within budget of a figure like Ossama Bin Laden. Alternatively, countries could purchase the technology and use it for a cheap ballistic warhead delivery vehicle. It is built to carry a payload of three humans, which would put it within the capability of a small nuclear weapon, I think. I don't know how well a craft of this type could be defended against. Perhaps that accounts for the apparent military personnel in the background - the military may want to ensure that the technology is within their capacity to track and intercept.