re: I can't think of any missions for this. Is my imagination that bad?
I suppose if you think long hard and enough you might come up with a mission scenario requiring this technology, even if it takes a lifetime for it to materialize. And remember, it may take this bird only two hours to get there, but how long does it take to prep it and get it ready from a "cold start"? And of course, how do you get your people back out?
This has got pork written all over it. Why not spend the money on something uselful, like the time-released placebo, or the morning-after birth control pill for men?