The Federal Aviation Administration has put up money to help search for the best site in Hawaii for a commercial spaceport, and to study the environmental impacts of launching and landing commercial spacecraft from Hawaii airports.

Those studies will move the state closer to applying for an FAA license to launch commercial spacecraft and venture into space tourism, said Jim Crisafulli, director of the Office of Aerospace Development in the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

"Bottom line is you want to make sure that this launching and landing can be done safely without any negative impact on the local population and the environment," Crisafulli said. The study will also ensure that the "space planes" being developed for the industry can operate safety in airspace they would share with commercial and military flights.

The FAA on Tuesday announced it has awarded a $250,000 grant to DBEDT as well as separate grants to Colorado’s Front Range Airport Authority and the East Kern Airport District at California’s Mojave Spaceport.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the grants "will help us continue to develop a safe and robust commercial space industry in the United States," according to a written statement from the FAA.

The FAA grant to Hawaii will be matched by $250,000 in state funds to conduct environmental and feasibility studies to help prepare the state to apply for an FAA commercial launch site operator’s license.

The state Legislature approved the matching state funding this year to help the state position itself to move into space tourism.

According to the bill, the FAA "is expected to issue a limited number of spaceport licenses, and the Legislature finds that it is crucial to position Hawaii for that economic opportunity."

State lawmakers approved a similar bill in 2009 to finance studies of the commercial spaceport idea, but former Gov. Linda Lingle questioned whether a market exists for space tourism, and would not sign the bill or release the money, Crisafulli said.

Three classes of planes are being developed for the industry, Crisafulli said.

One type takes off from a runway using jet engines, climbs to about 40,000 feet and then fires a rocket from the back of the vehicle that allows it to climb to an altitude of 62 miles at the edge of the atmosphere for a parabolic flight.

Another type of vehicle is propelled by a rocket that is fired on the runway, and another type is lifted by another aircraft to about 40,000 feet, where it is launched from the belly of the "mother ship," Crisafulli said.

"They all could launch from Hawaii," he said. The environmental assessment will review the existing infrastructure at Hawaii airports including Honolulu Airport and those at Kona, Hilo and Kalaeloa, taking into account factors such as the number of runways at each airport and access to fuel.

The study will identify the best site for a spaceport, and the rest of the environmental assessment will focus on that specific site and the classes of space planes that might be used, he said.

The study is expected to take a year to 18 months to finish, and will be followed by a public review period. Assuming there is a finding of no significant impact, the state will then apply for a commercial spaceport license, Crisafulli said.

So far, 10 other states have done similar studies to apply for or obtain commercial spaceport licenses, and all of those studies found no significant environmental or other impacts from the planned spaceport operations, he said.

The Hawaii environmental assessment is based on a programmatic environmental impact statement that was done by the FAA in 2005 and 2006. That study reviewed all of the designs of "space planes" and the requirements to operate these planes safely in U.S. airspace, Crisafulli said.

DBEDT has already obtained a procurement exemption to allow the state avoid a bidding process and award a contract to Reynolds Smith and Hills Inc. to prepare the spaceflight studies.

RSH did comparable studies for the Cecil Field airport in Jacksonville, Fla., and Cecil Field now has a spaceport license, Crisafulli said.