The problem NASA has faced is that since the Eagle landed on the moon and Apollo 11 returned safely to the earth the American people lost interest in our manned space program.

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We also -- since so many people were inspired in this country originally from our space program to think about math and science in new ways, it's terrific to have our NASA administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden in the house.

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I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it.

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Obama "has put the space program on a path where we are conceding our global position as the unequivocal leader in space, " Ryan added.

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"Robotics is playing a key role aboard the International Space Station and will be critical in our future human exploration of deep space, " said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program.

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