Personal Egress Air Packs, or PEAPs, were devices on board a

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

that provided crew members with about six minutes of breathable air in the case of a mishap while the vehicle was still on the ground. PEAPs did not provide pressurized air, meaning they were only intended to be used if the air inside the shuttle cabin become unbreathable because of noxious gases. The devices gained public attention after the ''Challenger'' disaster. After the recovery of the vehicle cockpit, it was found that three of the crew PEAPs were activated: those of mission specialist

Ellison Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and USAF test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', on which he wa ...

, mission specialist

Judith Resnik Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. She was the fourth woman, ...

, and pilot

Michael J. Smith Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, when it broke up 73 ...

. The location of Smith's activation switch, on the back side of his seat, means that either Resnik or Onizuka likely activated it for him.

Mike Mullane Richard Michael Mullane (born September 10, 1945; Col, USAF, Ret.) is an engineer and Weapon Systems Officer, a retired USAF officer, and a former NASA astronaut. During his career, he flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-D, STS-27, and STS ...

writes: This showed that at least two of the crew members (Onizuka and Resnik) were alive after the cockpit separated from the vehicle. However, if the cabin had lost pressure, the packs alone would not have sustained the crew during the two-minute descent. The partial-pressure launch-entry suits replaced the PEAPs, which were subsequently followed by the "

ACES ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Phili ...

" full-pressure suits, which include self-contained oxygen tanks.

References

Space Shuttle program Safety equipment {{US-spacecraft-stub