Failure Analysis at the Kennedy Space Center

History has shown that failures occur in every engineering endeavor, and what we learn from those failures contributes to the knowledge base to safely complete future missions. The necessity of failure analysis is at its apex at the end of one aged program and at the beginning of a new and untested program. The information that we gain through failure analysis corrects the deficiencies in the current vehicle to make the next generation of vehicles more efficient and safe. The Failure Analysis and Materials Evaluation Branch in the Materials Science Division at the Kennedy Space Center performs metallurgical, mechanical, electrical, and non-metallic materials failure analyses and accident investigations on both flight hardware and ground support equipment for the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Constellation, and Launch Services Programs. This paper will explore a variety of failure case studies at the Kennedy Space Center and the lessons learned that can be applied in future programs

Space Spalls: STS-120 International Space Station (ISS) Starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) Debris Analysis

No abstract availabl

Dengue en el embarazo: efectos en el feto y el recién nacido.

The risk of dengue virus infection during pregnancy has increased due to the current rash of frequent and severe dengue epidemics. The effects of dengue virus in the fetus and newborn children have been studied only superficially and with contradictory results. Therefore, a retrospective cohort study was conducted in Medellin, Colombia, to describe the fetal and postnatal effects of dengue virus infection acquired during pregnancy. Twenty-two babies born from mothers who suffered dengue during the epidemics of 1998 were compared with babies from non-infected mothers. In the exposed cohort, three premature births occurred, three children suffered from fetal anomalies and four children were born with low weight. In the non-exposed children, none of these problems were found. Psychomotor development was normal in both groups. Only the low weight subgroup was statistically significant (Fisher test, p = 0.045). These results suggested that the children from women with dengue during pregnancy present low weight, greater frequency of premature birth and increased fetal distress. A larger sample is necessary to confirm these results.El riesgo de infección por el virus del dengue durante el embarazo se está incrementando ante mayores y más severas epidemias, y las consecuencias sobre el feto y el recién nacido han sido poco estudiadas y, en otros casos, los resultados han sido contradictorios. Por esta razón, se realizó en Medellín un estudio de cohorte retrospectiva, cuyo objetivo fue determinar los efectos que produce el dengue durante el embarazo sobre el feto y el recién nacido. En dicho estudio se evaluaron 22 recién nacidos hijos de mujeres que presentaron dengue durante la epidemia de 1998 y se compararon con 24 recién nacidos, hijos de mujeres embarazadas sin dengue. En la cohorte con dengue se encontraron 3 niños prematuros, 3 niños con sufrimiento fetal y 4 niños con bajo peso al nacer. En la cohorte no expuesta no se encontraron niños con estos problemas. El desarrollo psicomotor fue normal en ambos grupos. De las observaciones anteriores, sólo fue estadísticamente significativa la frecuencia de niños con bajo peso al nacer (prueba exacta de Fisher, p=0,045). Estos resultados preliminares muestran que los recién nacidos de madres que sufrieron dengue durante la gestación tuvieron riesgo de bajo peso al nacer y presentaron con mayor frecuencia prematurez y sufrimiento fetal, aunque se requiere aumentar el tamaño de la muestra para confirmar estos resultados. Sin embargo, es necesario estrechar la vigilancia a las madres embarazadas con dengue dados los efectos nocivos sobre la evolución del recién nacido

Implicaciones metodológicas e inconsistencias de la Tercera Comunicación Nacional sobre Cambio Climático de Colombia

Las Comunicaciones Nacionales sobre Cambio Climático (CNCC) son un mecanismo para que los países informen sus avances en mitigación y adaptación, y constituyen uno de los elementos de base para la política sobre cambio climático a escala nacional. Colombia ha emitido tres CNCC. La tercera plantea un escenario que considera las proyecciones de diversos modelos incluidos en la quinta fase del Proyecto de Comparación de Modelos Acoplados (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, CMIP), el cual se estima como el promedio de las proyecciones correspondientes a las cuatro trayectorias de concentración representativa (Representative Concentration Pathways,RCP) presentadas en el quinto reporte de evaluación del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático. Cada una de estas RCP representa una trayectoria de concentración de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) para un escenario particular de crecimiento poblacional, económico y tecnológico que conduce a una posible trayectoria de evolución del sistema climático. En este estudio se comparan las proyecciones presentadas en la Tercera CNCC con las obtenidas directamente de los modelos empleados. Nuestros resultados demuestran que al utilizarse un promedio de RCP se pierden escenarios alternos que podrían ser importantes a la hora de considerar posibles futuros diferentes y anulan la utilidad de plantear diversas trayectorias de emisiones de GEI. Más aun, una comparación entre la Segunda y la Tercera CNCC muestra proyecciones de precipitación opuestas para diferentes regiones del país, lo cual es de particular importancia, pues el escenario de cambio climático planteado en la Tercera CNCC sirve de referencia para la toma de decisiones en materia de cambio climático a nivel nacional

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least 9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by 4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation