 How did suspension help the crew?
There were round dials set in a row above a speaker. I reached down to the tightness that held my body, found the wide strap that held me and fumbled with the buckle. How do you describe being weightless when you are born into a world bound by gravity. There was no sensation of place, no feeling of up or down, no direction. After the first shock of looking out, I accepted the fact that I was in a space ship, yet I couldn't read the maps that were fastened to a table, nor understand the function or design of the compact machinery. It was the only thing I saw that could help me, guard me against another shock like seeing outside of the clear portholes. "Do not begin operations until the others are removed from suspension." Your maximum deviation from schedule cannot exceed two degrees. The eyelid remained open until I closed it and went on. I dared not try to operate anything. Everything lay in readiness, fastened down star charts, instruments, glittering equipment. It waited for human hands to make it operate. The ports on the side were shielded and I stared out at static energy, hung motionless in a world of searing light. What speeds and perhaps, what distance? They stood for anything I might guess, and something kept pricking my mind, telling me I had no time to guess. Four people in all, depending on a blind helpless fool who didn't know their names or the reason for that dependence. I went from the nose to the last bulkhead in a frenzy of floating motion, looking behind each door until I went as far as I could. They both ended in the lead shield that was set where the swell of the curve was biggest. It meant the engine or engines took up half the ship, cut off from the forward half by the instrument studded shield. The box behind her head was completely closed, and it didn't yield to the pressure I applied. It had a cover, but no other opening where an arm could extend. Complete amnesia would have been terrible enough but this half knowledge, part awareness and association with the ship was a frightening force that seemed ready to break out of me. It couldn't be pried apart, and I searched again and again for a release mechanism. The equipment waited for the touch of a button and it went into operation. The fluid chamber drained under pressure and the arm moved back. "No gravity," he grunted and sat back.
 They could travel through space for a long distance.
 They could survive without oxygen.  They could live on an inhospitable planet.  They could survive with lack of gravity.  They could travel through space for a long distance.