“The Lockheed Martin X-33 is an unmanned, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane developed in the 1990s under the U.S. government-funded Space Launch Initiative program”. – Wikipedia

Photo: An Artist's Rendering Shows How Nasa's X-33 Technology Demonstrator, A Cost-Cutting Fully Reusable Single-Stage-To-Orbit Space Vehicle, Will Look Upon Completion. The 67 Foot-Long, 278,600 Pound, Twin Engine Space Vehicle, Capable Of Reaching Speeds In Excess Of Mach 15, Will Lead To The Construction Of A 127 Foot-Long, 2,186,000 Pound Version With Seven Engines And A 50,000 Pound Payload Capacity Called The “Venturestar”. (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images)

A staff member demonstrates how she puts on the helmet of a mock space suit at the C-Space Project Mars simulation base in the Gobi Desert outside Jinchang, Gansu Province, China, April 17, 2019. The facility – comprising several interconnected modules including a greenhouse and a mock decompression chamber – opened its doors to the public. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

An American flag is visible in the windows of the cupola aboard the International Space Station. Thanks to a bill passed by Texas legislators in 1997 that put in place technical voting procedure for astronauts – nearly all of whom live in Texas – they have the ability to vote from space through specially designed absentee ballots. To preserve the integrity of the secret vote, the ballot is encrypted and only accessible by the astronaut and the county clerk responsible for casting the ballot. (Photo by NASA)

Excited Brits beamed as they grabbed a pint outside in Leeds, United Kingdom on April 17, 2021. Pubs and restaurants with outdoor space have been allowed to reopen as lockdown restrictions are eased in the UK. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

An art installation is on display at Gentle Monster's Multi-brand Space – Haus Nowhere Shanghai on March 20, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)

The Proton rocket, that will launch the ExoMars 2016 spacecraft to Mars, is transfered to the launchpad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in this handout photo released by European Space Agency (ESA) on March 11, 2016. (Photo by Stephane Corvaja/Reuters/ESA)

The classical ballet company “Ardentia” performs in the street of Mexico City on traffic lights, in an effort to highlight the city's fine arts in public spaces in Mexico, September 8, 2018. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)