NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The survival kits are an integral part of the ejection seats and are extremely important to the aircrew member during post-ejection and while waiting for rescue. They contain a survival radio, a locator beacon, raft (in certain kits), food, water, a first aid kit, fishing kit, signaling mirror/flares, compass, shelter, and manuals on how to survive in different climates or terrain. They also provide emergency oxygen to the aircrew member in flight in case of an aircraft oxygen system failure, and during parachute descent automatically after ejection. Because maintaining these kits is critical to a person's survival, they are inspected/repacked and tested at specified periods to ensure that all components meet or exceed existing guidelines.

The Life Support Section also provides training to all crew members (pilots, video/photo support, flight engineers, and guest passengers) on the proper steps for seat/person integration, emergency ground egress, pre-ejection procedures, parachute landing procedures, water survival, and proper use of survival gear in the survival kits. Portions of this training are usually repeated every 30 days for back-seat crew members until a satisfactory level of proficiency is achieved, and annually for pilots.