Look up Ben Rich's comments that he made before his death in 1995. Sums up our technical capabilities 23 years ago and comes directly from a man in the KNOW.
Yes. The other comment that stood out was that everything people see in star wars we already did. That was said in a time were tech looks like a joke compared to today and he had already been in that world for decades before. I highly doubt his view was EVER below 40k with all the shit he was likely part of.