A universal life support system adapted for use in an aircraft or spacecraft. The system includes components attached to the aircraft or spacecraft, components attached to the seat, and the ensemble (10) to be worn. While appropriate gases and signals are sent between the craft and the seat, the seat connector (50) at the suit side is adapted to receive any of the variety of connectors used with the ensembles (10) that may be worn. While all potentially required gases, electrical signals, and electrical power are provided at the seat side of the seat-ensemble connection (102), the ensemble connector is configured to receive possibly only a subset of them. In addition, the ensemble connector can actuate a switch built into the seat connector to produce a signal indicative of the suit (10) being worn. This signal provides information to the life support control system in the aircraft to cause the life support control system to adapt appropriate temperature and gas supply schedules.
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