NIGP 80477: Spaceships

NIGP Item 80477, Spaceships, encompasses spacecraft and space-vehicle procurement and related space infrastructure analysis services that state and local governments buy infrequently but in strategically significant contexts. Recent opportunities show demand for space-program planning and analysis rather than spacecraft hardware itself: the Utah Department of Transportation issued an RFP for a comprehensive siting assessment and economic impact analysis to evaluate the business case for establishing a spaceport within the state, with a two-phase study running through October 2026 that evaluates seven candidate locations (Promontory, Wendover, Vernal, Delta, Green River, Bluff, and Kanab) and delivers economic modeling, ROI estimates, infrastructure needs assessments, and risk analysis across economic, environmental, operational, and airspace factors. The Texas A&M University System issued an ITB for a spacesuit simulator, indicating demand from higher-education and research institutions for space-program educational and training equipment. Issuing bodies are limited to state agencies and higher-education systems; activity does not extend across county, municipal, or school-district procurement channels typical of most NIGP codes.

The code shows concentrated activity in the Mountain West and Texas. The Utah Department of Transportation RFP (due February 13, 2026) represents the most substantial recent opportunity, with evaluation across four stages (mandatory requirements pass/fail, technical scoring to a maximum of 105 points weighted across project-team qualifications, relevant past work, methodology, and risk assessment, cost scoring to a maximum of 25 points using a ratio-based formula, and final award determination), mandatory insurance minimums of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate, and all deliverables becoming state property as work made for hire. The Texas A&M University System ITB for the spacesuit simulator (due April 16, 2026, on the AggieBid platform) and Louisville Metro Government's unrelated Family Aquatic Center construction RFP (due July 9, 2026) round out recent solicitations, though the aquatic-center bid falls outside the scope of spacecraft and space-infrastructure procurement despite its NIGP code assignment and likely represents a data-classification outlier rather than representative demand under this code.