NIGP 31243: Environmental Control Systems, Spacecraft

NIGP 31243 Environmental Control Systems, Spacecraft is an Item code covering equipment, systems, and support services for environmental control and life support (ECLSS) in spacecraft and advanced aerospace platforms. State and local governments procure under this code primarily through research institutions, space agencies, and educational entities pursuing human spaceflight missions, advanced materials testing, and aerospace workforce development. The scope includes ECLSS hardware, test facilities and verification services, simulation materials for astronaut and payload training, and technical support infrastructure for mission assurance and payload integration. Issuing bodies include state space commissions, county school districts with advanced STEM programs, and higher-education institutions partnering with commercial spaceflight operators. These entities source both capital equipment (test chambers, environmental simulators, flight-qualified systems) and consumables (regolith and lunar simulants for habitat construction training, life-support verification materials).

Recent activity centers on Texas and Florida. The Texas Space Commission issued RFI 35826003 in September 2026 seeking information on statewide Environmental Control & Life Support System test capabilities, existing facilities, upgrade concepts, and distributed test networks to support emergent human spaceflight missions, with responses due September 11, 2026. The School Board of Seminole County, Florida, Purchasing and Distribution Services issued sole-source procurement 25260122S-VG in July 2026 for five tonnes of Anorthosite Highlands Simulant from Space Resource Technologies for its ePathways Department at approximately $20,000 annually. The Texas RFI requires documented prior NASA environmental verification experience and targets facility owners, technology providers, and consortia; the Florida procurement reflects K–12 engagement in lunar and planetary science curriculum. Both represent nascent state-level investment in spaceflight infrastructure and education rather than mature recurring procurement volumes.