51.   But the fact that ground technicians have been unable to devise a way to combat the problem is linked to the overall stress on an underfunded space program.

52.   But the potential for great accomplishments remains, and the importance of a healthy space exploration program is as real as the coming millennium.

53.   But the latest Chinese failure was the fifth their space program has suffered in just over three years, and the third involving a Western satellite.

54.   But the public has benefited greatly from research conducted in the space program before, between and after those flights, he said.

55.   But the space program and the heroic race to beat the Russians to the moon are presented as more central to the spirit of the times.

56.   But there has been fervor to continue using Mir by Russian nationalists who see it as the last vestige of a once great independent space program.

57.   But those films presented the space program as an important component of the Cold War.

58.   But to Russians, despite the near-fatal accidents and years of chronic underfunding, Mir is the symbol of a once-proud space program.

59.   By contrast, the American space program, with its winged shuttles, has great biomedical gear.

60.   By official accounts, the heroic air force major gave speeches at such meetings trumpeting the triumphs of the Soviet space program.