Far-flung travel agency picked up old colonel from Egypt (4)

I believe the answer is:

nasa

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'egypt' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for nasa that I've seen before include "rocket launcher" , "US agency responsible for space flight" , "US headquarters for space exploration" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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