WASHINGTON - The following is a statement from Alan Stern, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters in Washington, regarding the death of Arthur C. Clarke:

"Arthur Clarke was a gifted writer of science and science fiction, and an unparalleled visionary of the future, inspiring countless young people throughout the middle and later 20th century with his hopeful vision of how spaceflight would transform societies, economies, and humankind itself.

"Although his personal odyssey here on Earth is now over, his vision lives on through his writing; he will be sorely missed."

RELEASE : 08-083

NASA Statement on the Death of Arthur C. Clarke