Restraints and mobility aids are provided in the orbiter to enable the flight crew to perform all tasks safely and efficiently during ingress (1-g, orbiter vertical), egress (1-g, orbiter horizontal) and orbital flight (orbiter orientation arbitrary). Restraints and mobility aids consist of foot loop restraints, the airlock foot restraint platform and the work/dining table. In-flight restraints consist of temporary stowage bags, Velcro, tape, snaps, cable restraints, clips, bungees and tethers.

Mobility aids and devices consist of handholds, footholds, handrails, ladders and the ingress-egress platform.

Foot loop restraints are cloth loops attached to the crew compartment decks by adhesive to secure crew members to the deck. Before launch, the foot loop restraints are installed on the floor areas of the aft flight deck work stations, middeck lockers, waste collection system and galley (if installed). Spares will be stowed in the modular lockers. To install a foot restraint, the protective backing on the underside of the restraint is removed and the restraint is placed in its desired location. The foot loop restraints are easily used by placing one or both feet in the loop.

The temporary stowage bag is used to restrain, stow or transport loose equipment temporarily. It is snapped or attached with Velcro to the crew station standard Velcro and snap patterns.

Mobility aids and devices are located in the crew compartment for movement of the flight crew members during ingress, egress and orbital flight. These devices consist of handholds for ingress and egress to and from crew seats in the launch and landing configuration, handholds in the primary interdeck access opening for ingress and egress in the launch and landing configuration, a platform in the middeck for ingress and egress to and from the middeck when the orbiter is in the launch configuration, and an interdeck access ladder to enter the flight deck from the middeck in the launch configuration and go from the flight deck to the middeck in the launch and landing configuration.

The flight data file is a flight reference data file that is readily available to crew members aboard the orbiter. It consists of the onboard complement of documentation and related crew aids and includes documentation, such as procedural checklists (normal, backup and emergency procedures), malfunction procedures, crew activity plans, schematics, photographs, cue cards, star charts, Earth maps and crew notebooks; FDF stowage containers; and FDF ancillary equipment, such as tethers, clips, tape and erasers.

Four permanently mounted containers are located to the left and right side of the commander's and pilot's seats for stowing FDFs on the flight deck. The remaining FDF items are stowed in a middeck modular stowage locker.

The flight data file quantity and stowage locations are similar for all flights. The baseline stowage volume is sufficient to contain all FDF items for all orbiter configurations except the pallet-mounted payload. In this case, a larger flight data file and, consequently, additional locker space are required because all payload operations are performed in the orbiter.

FDF items are used throughout the flight-from prelaunch use of the ascent checklist through crew use of the entry checklist.

Flight data files are packaged and stowed on an individual flight basis. FDF items will be stowed in five types of stowage containers: lockers, the flight deck module, the commander's and pilot's seat-back FDF assemblies, the middeck FDF assembly and the map bag. The portable containers are stowed in a middeck modular locker for launch and entry.

If the flight carries a Spacelab module, all Spacelab books are stowed for launch in a portable container on the middeck and transferred in flight to the Spacelab. The FDF stowage is flexible and easily accessible.