NASA is preparing to launch its first-ever space tourism mission to the International Space Station on April 3, with liftoff set for that day.

According to Digital Trends, the space agency is just days away from launching its first privately crewed mission, which will send three amateur astronauts to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which will launch on April 3 from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, powered by the company's Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA is getting ready to launch the world's first space tourism expedition to the International Space Station. According to a recent NASA press release, former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegra will command the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) alongside a trio of space tourists who reportedly paid around $55 million to travel to the space station and spend eight days there conducting "scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities."

Former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegra will command the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) alongside a trio of space tourists who reportedly paid $55 million to travel to the space station and spend eight days there conducting "scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities," according to a press release.

The International Space Station has orbited Earth for 23 years, but NASA intends to decommission it in 2030. It could be replaced by Axiom Space's commercial space station or Blue Origin's Orbital Reef station in low Earth orbit, which is being built in collaboration with many other space businesses, including Boeing, Sierra Space, and others.
The competition to offer commercial flights to space via various alternative forms of transportation is heating up, with more and more organizations gearing ready to do so. Last year, World View revealed that it had developed a 14-million-cubic-foot helium-filled balloon capsule that would transport interested visitors to "the edge of space" for $50,000 per ticket.