Life Support services provides personal protective equipment services to the Space Shuttle, Delta and Atlas launch vehicles and their payloads, and other tenant organizations at KSC and CCAFS.  The life support function includes operation and maintenance of 50 different types of life support equipment totaling over 10,000 individual items consisting primarily of protective clothing and respirators and associated support equipment.  Responsibilities include replacement, procurement, fabrication, maintenance, management and issuance of these items to Spaceport customers at hundreds of locations across the Spaceport and Shuttle contingency landing sites around the world.  Life Support services are provided under the JBOSC contract by SGS and Wyle.  The primary office is located in Hangar S on CCAFS.

List of tasks done by Life Support:

• Provide and recycle life support equipment used for training.
• Inspect and test hazardous material suits, including those provided by others.
• Test and maintain Life Preserver Units used on KSC aircraft.
• Provide engineering support and maintain Life Support documentation.
• Operate, maintain and refurbish Life Support equipment as assigned.

Equipment - Operate, maintain and refurbish life support equipment as assigned. Assigned equipment includes the following:

• Astronaut rescue air packs (ARAPs)
• Liquid air packs (LAPs)
• Portable Air Ventilators (PAV)
• Divator breathing air units
• Propellant handlers ensemble, Self Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) come in two varieties; Propellant Handlers Ensemble (PHE: CAT I and CAT IV modes) and ILC Dover CAT VI suits. Breathing air is provided by either a ECU backpack (CAT I or airline (CAT IV or CAT VI) from an external source; such as a facility breathing air panel, which is in turn supplied by either fixed pressure vessels, Mobile Storage Units (MSUs) or Compress Gas Trailers (CGTs) located outside the facility. A person wearing a SCAPE communicates with others via either a wired intercom or radio. When wearing an ECU and radio, the person has complete freedom of mobility. A PHE suit weighs 26 lbs, and with the boots and gloves it's no more then 30 lbs. The ECU weighs about 38 lbs full of liquid air. PHE-CAT I mode weighs 70 lbs when fully assembled.
• Environmental Control unit (ECU) backpacks worn inside the PHE-SCAPE suit (known as Cat I) provides breathing air. An ECU weighs approximately 38 pounds when fully loaded with two liters of liquid air, which will provide up to two hours of air to the wearer.
• Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA): ISI Magnum 30-minute SCBAs and the Survivair 1-hour composite SCBAs.
• ISI Airlines
• Emergency Life Support Apparatus (ELSA) 10- and 7- minute breathing escape units.
• Medical Resuscitators: Astronaut Rescue Air Packs (ARAPs), portable resuscitators, ambulance resuscitators, auto vents, and facility resuscitators.

Facility Life Support Fill and Test Equipment:

• Emergency Breathing Equipment (EBE) automated fill station
• Scott Air Pack test stands
• Survivair test console
• Divator test stand
• Biosystems posi-chek tester
• ECU fill station
• ECU test stand
• ECU purge panel
• 500-gallon Facility Dewar
• Resuscitator Charging Station
• Resuscitator test console
• SCAPE Soap and Water shower
• Sewing Repair Facility
• SCAPE Suit Pressure Test Panels
• Protective Clothing Repair Facility
• Respirator Washer
• Respirator Dryer

Mobile Equipment:

• Portable Air Regulation Panels
• Portable Pressure Reducing Panels
• Dual Output Regulation Panels
• SCAPE Transporter Vans
• SCAPE Support Trailers
• Liquid Air Cart