Life Support Belt
The life support belt is a personal force field that supplies the wearer with the appropriate atmosphere and protects them from the elements. (Star Trek: The Animated Series)
It was in use by Starfleet in the late 2260s and the early 2270s aboard the USS Enterprise. After the conclusion of the ship's third five-year mission, life support belts were no longer in service. In the mid-2270s, Starfleet reverted back to using standard environmental suits. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Background[edit]
The life support belt was invented specifically for TAS. It allowed the cartoonists to simply draw the belt and yellow glow around the existing characters, instead of having to redraw them with an environmental suit. It is possible that they were only meant for short term use, as there is no room for a large amount of oxygen and the amount of time the characters are seen in them would corroborate this. While the Starfleet life support belt was never seen again, there were a few other examples of personal force fields in later spin-offs.
