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The sign accompanying the suit. It reads

US Navy Mark IV Pressure Suit

As high performance jets were able to fly higher and higher, the low pressure at altitude had a detrimental effect on pilots. The US Navy commissioned the B.F. Goodrich Company to develop a full pressure suite which could maintain 5 psi on the body. This helped pilots avoid what divers call "the bends," where gas bubbles form in the blood stream with painful and sometimes deadly results.

This suit is on loan from NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center.