For a while, it seemed the series of experimental aircraft sponsored by the U.S. government had run its course. Between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, almost thirty designations had been allocated to aircraft meant to explore new flight regimes or untried technologies. Then, largely, it ended. But there was a resurgence in the mid- to late- 1990s, and as we enter the fourth year of the new millennia, the designations are up to X-50.