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ByMarciaDunn The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. A Russian supply capsule that went into an uncon- trollable spin after launch was declared a total loss Wednesday, but astronauts at the International Space Station said they will get by without the delivery of fresh food, water, clothes and equipment. "We should be OK," NASA astronaut Scott Kelly assured The Associated Press. "I think we're going to be in good shape." Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko, the space station's one-year crew members, told the AP during an interview that flight controllers had given up trying to command the cargo carrier. NASA and the Russian Space Agency later confirmed the news. The unmanned Prog- ress vessel, bearing 3 tons of goods, began tumbling when it reached orbit Tues- day, following launch from Kazakhstan. The head of Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, Igor Komarov, cited a lack of pressure in the main block of the propul- sion system in the decision to abort the mission. Kelly said the craft will fall out of orbit and re-en- ter the atmosphere. Russian reports indicated a re-entry possibly next week. The capsule is expected to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, as is the case for all Progress car- riers, once they have deliv- ered their shipments and are filled with trash. "The program plans for these kinds of things to happen. They're very un- fortunate when they do," said Kelly, one month into a yearlong mission, which will be a record for NASA. He added: "The impor- tant thing is hardware can be replaced." Kornienko called it "a big concern." But he expressed "100 percent confidence" that operations will con- tinue as planned until the next shipment arrives. Supplying the space sta- tion is mostly handled by the United States and Rus- sia. NASA hired SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. to provide regular shipments, once the shuttle program ended in 2011. SpaceX plans to send up a load of supplies in June; its most recent shipment ar- rived less than two weeks ago. This is the second cargo ship lost in the past half year. In October, Orbital Sci- ences suffered a launch ex- plosion in Virginia that de- stroyed a station supply ship. NASA officials want a six- month supply of food on the space station, but because of the Orbital Sciences acci- dent, the reserves are down a month or so. The Japanese Space Agency also period- ically sends up cargo; it is aiming for a summer ship- ment Six people currently live at the space station: two Americans, one Italian and three Russians. Just days before Tues- day's launch, Roscosmos announced that the cargo ship held a copy of the Ban- ner of Victory, the red flag with the Soviet hammer and sickle that was raised over the Reichstag in Ber- lin by victorious Soviet sol- diers in 1945. It is a highly revered symbol of the vic- tory over Nazi Germany in World War II. But on Wednesday, the agency said the banner was already on the space station, arriving with Kelly and Kornienko in March. Russia is planning ex- tensive celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Victory Day on May 9. LOST GOODS NASA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS An ISS Progress resupply vehicle approaches the International Space Station. On Wednesday NASA and the Russian Space Agency declared a total loss on an unmanned Progress capsule, carrying 3tons of goods to the station. NASA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are interviewed at International Space Station on Wednesday. Kelly and Kornienko told The Associated Press during the interview that flight controllers have given up trying to command the cargo carrier. Russia's spinning cargo capsule for space station total loss By Lauran Neergaard The Associated Press WASHINGTON In a striking example of how 3-D print- ers could customize med- ical care, doctors turned powdered plastic into tiny devices that saved the lives of three baby boys by hold- ing open defective airways so they could breathe — and the implants even expanded as the tots grew. These experimental air- way splints actually change shape over time, adding what researchers call a fourth dimension that is key for growing children as the implants first expand and later, when no longer needed, harmlessly dissolve. "We are using laser light to transform dust into med- ical devices that change how the body develops," said lead researcher Dr. Glenn Green, a pediatric ear, nose and throat spe- cialist at the University of Michigan. "It is a concept that would have been in- conceivable" not too many years ago. Green's team made head- lines in 2013 with initial success in treating the first baby, Kaiba Gionfriddo. On Wednesday, the re- searchers published prom- ising results with two other youngsters, plus long-term tests showing that Kaiba, now a thriving 3-year-old, seems cured as the splint that once helped him breathe is dissolving right on time. Next the team is work- ing with the Food and Drug Administration to begin a clinical trial testing the 3-D printed devices in 30 chil- dren with a similar problem. Independent experts called the work exciting. "Fascinating," said Duke University's Dr. Piers Barker, who leads research in 3-D printing for pediat- ric cardiology. "The promise of 3-D print- ing is you can really begin to personalize potentially almost every medical inter- vention," Barker said. But "this approach to a struc- ture that permits growth — this is the first time I've seen anything like this." Beyond all the consumer gadgets from the 3-D print- ing revolution, doctors in- creasingly are turning to the technology. They already have tried printing custom-sized artifi- cial bones, replacement ears and models of deformed hearts so that surgeons can practice a fix before cutting someone open. Some scien- tists even are attempting to print organs, pumping out a mixture of biodegradable scaffolding and human cells instead of ink. Such work will take many more years of research. MEDICAL CARE 3 boys saved by customized airway tube made on 3-D printer JOE HALLISY, U-M HEALTH SYSTEM DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION —THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An airway splint created on a 3-D printer before doctors implant it to hold open a child's weakened airway and expand as the tot grows. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015 4 B