The official said the type of oxidiser container that was found from the first stage of the rocket launch would rarely be used by countries with advanced space technology.

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Even as NASA's budget has decreased by approximately 15 percent in constant dollars since 1993, we have made provision for several important new initiatives to maintain the delicate balance between human space flight, earth and space science, and advanced aeronautics and space transportation technology.

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NASA's Space Technology Program focuses on maturing advanced space technologies that may lead to entirely new approaches for space missions and solutions to significant national needs.

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Furthermore, no country, including the United States, has ever given up territory and needed defensive space just because it had advanced weapons systems or sophisticated early warning technology.

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"The UrtheCast camera will support the ISS and continue to inspire youth to pursue advanced studies in space sciences and spark interest in science, technology, engineering and the environment, " says Dr.Williams.

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According to Arthur C Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" and to a 1960s audience, the talking computers and space stations of 2001: A Space Odyssey must have seemed incredible.

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