Tag Archives: Big Sur

Science & Technology

Solar satellite arrives at Vandenberg AFB for launch

Leave a comment

(Phys.org) —NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) satellite arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, April 16, to begin its final preparations for launch currently scheduled no earlier than May 28. IRIS will improve our understanding of how heat and energy move through the deepest levels of the sun’s atmosphere, thereby increasing our ability to forecast space weather. Following final checkouts, the IRIS spacecraft will be placed inside an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket. Deployment of the Pegasus from the L-1011 carrier aircraft is targeted for 7:27 p.m. PDT at an altitude of 39,000 feet at a location over the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles northwest of Vandenberg AFB off the central coast of California south of Big Sur.

From: http://phys.org/news285486317.html

News, Politics, Government

Tugboat sinks, Coast Guard rescues 4 off Calif.

Leave a comment

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four people from a life raft after their tugboat sank off California near Big Sur.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that it received a distress call from the tugboat known as Delta Captain Saturday and sent two boats and a helicopter to the scene.

The helicopter spotted the crew and lowered a rescue swimmer to help hoist them out of the raft into the aircraft.

They were taken to shore in Monterey where paramedics were waiting, but there were no reports of injuries.

Two tugboats were sent to the barge the Delta Captain was pulling, and teams from the Coast Guard and the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife were working to recover the tugboat and assess any environmental damage it may have done.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/L7xyug2ugjw/

News, Politics, Government

Coast Guard rescues 4 from life raft off California coast

Leave a comment

The Coast Guard says four people who jumped from a sinking tug boat onto a life raft have been rescued off the coast of Big Sur.

Lt. Mark Leahey said the crew was aboard the Delta Captain when it began to sink in heavy seas shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday.

Leahey said they made a distress call and activated the boat’s electronic positioning equipment before abandoning ship. A rescue helicopter crew located them about 13 miles off the coast and plucked them from the water. They were flown to Monterey for evaluation.

Leahey said no injuries were reported.

Investigators were trying to determine what cause the boat to sink.

Leahey said the sea was rough, with winds averaging 20 to 30 knots and swells reaching 12 feet.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/AARaYBKiL3M/