You have absolutely no idea what that sentence actually means. None whatsoever.
Guess what, Sparkydoodles? We've also "lost" the technology to build the Iowa class battleships. Chew on that for a few years. Learn some actual science and engineering, while you're at it. Then maybe you'll begin to comprehend what is actually meant by "losing" technology.
As to the completely wrong part of your comment, the Atlas V is not early sixties technology. The RD180 engine was designed in the late 1990s and first flew in 2000. And yes, the rocket really did put a satellite in orbit around Earth, which really is roughly an oblate spheroid in shape.
Like the Irish journalist asked the brain-dead lead scientist on the Rover mission: just give me some coordinates for that satellite (or any satellite) as we should all be able to watch the fifty thousand plus satellites pretty much 24/7 from our backyards.