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Detail of the helmet tiedown strap (silver cable, pulley, and white nylon strap).

The suit was intended as a secondary life support system; if the main cabin's pressure vessel was compromised, the suit would inflate to provide pressure and oxygen for the astronaut. The suit was not really designed to actually be used when pressurized, and would balloon up. The tiedown strap was intended to prevent the suits neck ring from riding up the astronaut's face and obscuring his vision.