Washington, D.C.-U.S. Third District Congressman Frank Lucas and Fifth District Congressman Ernest Istook announced today they had secured $250,000 for support of the Oklahoma Spaceport at Burns Flat, Okla.

“We’re another step closer to making Spaceport Oklahoma a reality, which will mean jobs and economic development for Oklahomans,” Lucas said. “This project could also catapult Burns Flat to become one of the premier space launch sites in the nation.”

The funding will be used for licensing of the space port by the Federal Aviation Administration, which will include an environmental impact statement and an inland launch site safety analysis. FAA licensing is the final regulatory hurdle to become a fully functioning spaceport.

"It's a great hope that our wide-open spaces and the Burns Flat runways could lead to a spaceport in western Oklahoma; this funding helps us to explore and advance that dream," said Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK), who chairs the subcommittee that funds transportation, and secured the funds at Congressman Lucas' request.

One space flight company has already broken ground at the spaceport.  Pioneer Rocketplane is developing a vehicle that will take off and land like an airplane, but will also have a reusable rocket engine that will propel it from 30,000 feet to over 330,000 feet in altitude.

Their primary mission will be space tourism.  The company will take space travelers over 60 miles above Earth, where they can experience zero gravity for three to four minutes before returning to the landing strip at Burns Flat.

The vehicles could also be used for zero gravity research or for observation of Earth for agricultural or environmental purposes.