SpaceX Helicopter Landing Test on the Crew Recovery Ship

SpaceX rehearses helicopter landing and patient loading on its recovery ship, GO Searcher, practicing how the aircraft will pick up astronauts and fly them to a nearby hospital in the unlikely event of a medical emergency. The company outfitted the ship with a medical treatment facility and a helipad in the center of the vessel. When astronauts splash down into the ocean after their journey to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA and SpaceX doctors will work together to evaluate the crew onboard the vessel. Should astronauts need to be airlifted to a hospital, the helicopter also will pick up paramedics and doctors from the ship who will care for the astronauts in-flight.