120 research outputs found
Geoscience Laser Altimetry System (GLAS) Loop Heat Pipe Anomaly and On Orbit Testing
The Geoscience Laser Altimetry System (GLAS) is the sole instrument on the ICESat Satellite. On day 230 of 2003, the GLAS Component Loop Heat Pipe (CLHP) entered a slow circulation mode that resulted in the main electronics box reaching its hot safing temperature, after which the entire instrument was turned off. The CLHP had a propylene working fluid and was actively temperature controlled via a heater on the compensation chamber. The slow circulation mode happened right after a planned propulsive yaw maneuver with the spacecraft. It took several days to recover the CLHP and ensure that it was still operational. The recovery occurred after the entire instrument was cooled to survival temperatures and the CLHP compensation chamber cycled on a survival heater. There are several theories as to why this slow circulation mode exhibited itself, including: accumulation of Non-Condensible Gas (NCG), the secondary wick being under designed or improperly implemented, or an expanded (post-launch) leak across the primary wick. Each of these is discussed in turn, and the secondary wick performance is identified as the most likely source of the anomalous behavior. After the anomaly, the CLHP was controlled to colder temperatures to improve its performance (as the surface tension increases with lower temperature, as does the volume of liquid in the compensation chamber) and only precursor pulses occurred later in the mission. After GLAS s last laser failed, in late 2009, a decision was made to conduct engineering tests of both LHPs to try and duplicate this flight anomaly. The engineering tests consisted of control setpoint changes, sink changes, and one similar propulsive Yaw maneuver. The only test that showed any similar anomaly precursors on the CLHP was the propulsive maneuver followed by a setpoint increase. The ICESat Satellite was placed in a decaying orbit and ended its mission on August 30, 2010 in Barents Sea
KEYNOTE-716: Phase III study of adjuvant pembrolizumab versus placebo in resected high-risk stage II melanoma.
Patients with high-risk stage II melanoma are at significant risk for recurrence after surgical resection. Adjuvant treatment options to lower the risk for distant metastases are limited. Although adjuvant IFN-α2b is associated with improved relapse-free survival in patients with high-risk melanoma, toxicity and limited overall survival benefits limit its use. Adjuvant treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab significantly improved recurrence-free survival, compared with placebo, in patients with resected stage III melanoma in the Phase III KEYNOTE-054 trial; efficacy in patients with stage II disease has not been established. This article describes the design and rationale of KEYNOTE-716 (NCT03553836), a two-part, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter Phase III study of adjuvant pembrolizumab in patients with surgically resected high-risk stage II melanoma. Clinical trial registry & ID: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT0355383
Psychedelic Research Resurrected: The Contributions of Stanislav Grof
This presentation will discuss Stan Grof’s impact on the resurgent field of psychedelic research, particularly in regard to the development of the psilocybin treatment of advanced-cancer anxiety studies that were conducted in the early 2000s. After decades of repression, we are on the threshold of demonstrating that the field Stan and his colleagues courageously started many years ago still has remarkable contributions to make
Geoscience Laser Altimetry System (GLAS) On-Orbit Flight Report on the Propylene Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs)
The Geoscience Laser Altimetry System (GLAS) instrument which is the sole instrument on ICESat was launched on January 12, 2003. GLAS utilizes two actively controlled propylene Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) as the core of its thermal system. The LHPs started quickly when the Dale Ohm starter heaters were powered and have as designed. The low control heater power and on-orbit tight temperature control appear independent of gravity effects when comparing ground testing to flight data. The use of coupling blocks was also unique to these LHPs. Their application reduced control heater power by reducing the subcooling from the radiator. The effectiveness in reducing subcooling of the coupler blocks decreased during flight from ground testing, but internal thermal isolation in the compensation chamber between the subcooled returning liquid increased in flight resulting in no net increase in control heater power versus ground measurements. Overall the application of LHPs in the thermal system for GLAS met instrument requirements and provided flexibility for the overall system as last minute requirements became known
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