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From Wiki.
Fulton first used instrumented dummies as he prepared for a live pickup. He next used a pig, as pigs have nervous systems close to humans. Lifted off the ground, the pig began to spin as it flew through the air at 125 mph (200 km/h). It arrived on board uninjured but in a disoriented state. Once it recovered, it attacked the crew.[2]
Mr_Sworld
edscoble
^^ I think I remember seeing something about that. IIRC They were trying to work out how to rescue downed pilots without landing. I think they figured out that if you put up a long enough line with a weather balloon on the end of it a plane could hook the end and the slack in the line was enough to stop the pilot from being pulled apart by the g-forces. Presumably they dismembered a few sheep in the prototyping stage rather than killing pilots.