Latest news with #ChrisClark
Broadcast Pro
a day ago
- Science
- Broadcast Pro
Firefly Aerospace secures $176.7m NASA contract for Lunar South Pole mission
Blue Ghost will land near the lunar south pole, where it will deploy payloads and rovers and maintain operations for more than 12 days. Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $176.7m contract by NASA under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to deliver five NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moons south pole in 2029. The mission will employ Fireflys Elytra orbital transfer vehicle and the Blue Ghost lunar lander to conduct scientific research and resource evaluation on the lunar surface, supporting future human exploration and infrastructure development. Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, said: 'Firefly is honoured to support another NASA CLPS task order as a proven, reliable partner for robotic missions to the Moon. Following our first Blue Ghost mission that made history just a few months ago, this bold Firefly team proved we have the right mix of grit, innovation, and dedication to not only stick the landing, but also complete all scientific objectives for our payload partners. Weve set the bar high, and we aim to continue setting new records in our missions to come with our active production line of Blue Ghost landers.' During Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Fireflys Elytra Dark transfer vehicle will first deploy the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit and remain on orbit to provide a long-haul communications relay for the mission. Blue Ghost will then land in the Moons south pole region, deploy the rovers and enable payloads operations with data, power and communications services for more than 12 days on the lunar surface. The NASA-sponsored payloads onboard Blue Ghost include two rovers the MoonRanger rover and a Canadian Space Agency rover as well as a Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS), a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), and the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS), which also flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1. These payloads will help uncover the composition and resources available at the Moons south pole, advance lunar navigation, evaluate the chemical composition of lunar regolith, and further study the effects of a landers plume on the Moons surface during landings. Following Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Elytra Dark will remain operational in lunar orbit for more than five years in support of Fireflys Ocula lunar imaging service. The mission enables a third Elytra Dark in Fireflys growing constellation to provide customers with faster revisit times for lunar mapping, mission planning, situational awareness, and mineral detection services. The first two Elytra Dark vehicles will launch as part of Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the far side of the Moon in 2026 and Blue Ghost Mission 3 to the Gruithuisen Domes in 2028. Chris Clark, Vice President of Spacecraft, added: 'Fireflys Elytra Dark spacecraft are great companions for Blue Ghost theyre highly maneuverable vehicles built with the same flight-proven components and propulsion system that successfully landed Blue Ghost on the Moon. As our Elytra constellation continues to grow in lunar orbit, Firefly is in a unique position to provide lunar imaging services and a communications relay for missions anywhere on the Moons surface. And with extra payload capacity on both Elytra and Blue Ghost, we invite additional government and commercial customers to join our fourth mission thats built upon the same reliable architecture and led by the same trusted team.'
Scotsman
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Scottish firm John Clark Motor Group welcomes electric vehicle leaders BYD to its expanding franchise network
John Clark Motors John Clark Motor Group, the trusted family-owned and family-run automotive business, is proud to announce the addition of BYD (Build Your Dreams), a global leader in electric vehicles, to its growing portfolio of franchises. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This strategic partnership underlines the group's continued commitment to growth, innovation, and delivering an exceptional customer experience. The BYD range of electric and hybrid vehicles will be supported by a comprehensive suite of aftersales services, reflecting John Clark Motor Group's investment in the future of sustainable mobility. John Clark Motors Chris Clark, Managing Director of John Clark Motor Group, said: 'We are delighted to welcome BYD to the John Clark family. This exciting new partnership not only enhances our dealership offering but also brings the very latest in electric vehicle innovation to our customers. Chris Clark 'With plans to launch additional locations following our first site in Aberdeen, we are fully committed to BYD's growth in the UK market.' Since entering the UK in 2023, BYD has quickly gained traction with a versatile line-up of award-winning electric vehicles, including the BYD Dolphin, Atto 3, and Sealion 7. Designed with cutting-edge battery technology and extended range capabilities, each new vehicle comes with a comprehensive manufacturer's warranty of 6 years or 93,750 miles. The addition of BYD follows recent franchise expansions for the John Clark Motor Group, including the acquisitions of John Clark MG and John Clark KIA in 2024, marking a period of rapid and strategic growth. John Clark Motors About John Clark Motor Group Founded in 1974, John Clark Motor Group now represents over 19 automotive brands across 41 locations in Scotland, offering new and used car and van sales, servicing, and parts to customers throughout the north-east of Scotland and beyond.
Business Wire
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
AWRE and WIN Reality Partner to Deliver Automated AI Swing Analysis for Baseball and Softball
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AWRE Sports and WIN Reality today announced a strategic partnership to bring automated, AI-powered swing biomechanics analysis to baseball and softball coaches and players across high school, college, and professional levels. Every AWRE swing now comes with automated SwingAI biomechanics analysis—giving coaches instant, data-driven feedback without extra steps. Share With this integration, every swing captured on the AWRE platform will now be automatically analyzed by WIN Reality's SwingAI technology —delivering actionable mechanical insights with no extra recording, uploads, or workflow changes. This partnership brings together AWRE's industry leading video capture and analytics platform with WIN Reality's advanced AI swing analysis technology, delivering two major benefits for AWRE users: Maddux + SwingAI: AWRE's new natural language assistant, Maddux, now taps directly into SwingAI biomechanics data. Coaches and players can ask targeted performance questions like: 'Whose swing score is trending down over the past 3 months?' or 'How has Jesse's hip-shoulder separation changed this season?' Maddux instantly responds with data-driven, biomechanically backed answers—making it easier for coaches to spot trends, track development, and tailor training plans. SwingAI Mobile App Access: In addition to Maddux insights, every AWRE-recorded swing will also sync to the SwingAI mobile app, giving users access to 3D swing visualizations, AI-generated coaching cues, progress tracking tools and personalized training plans. This allows both coaches and players to dive deeper into individual swing mechanics, compare swings over time, and receive personalized drill recommendations based on real swing data. 'Maddux is designed to make complex data accessible and actionable for coaches at every level,' said Chris Clark, CEO of AWRE Sports. 'By integrating SwingAI biomechanic data, we're giving coaches and players a way to ask natural language questions and instantly get meaningful answers, backed by real swing data, all without changing their existing AWRE workflows.' 'This partnership gives coaches and players swing intelligence at scale, across every game, practice, and rep,' said Chris O'Dowd, CEO of WIN Reality. 'By combining AWRE's video capture tools with SwingAI's biomechanics analysis, we're making high-level swing feedback easier to access and apply than ever before.' The AWRE x SwingAI integration will be available to AWRE users coming in the fall. Learn more and get set up with early beta access at About AWRE Sports AWRE Sports is a leading provider of multi-angle video capture and data visualization tools for baseball and softball teams at the high school, college, and professional levels. AWRE's platform helps coaches and players analyze performance and drive player development with ease. About WIN Reality WIN Reality is a leader in virtual reality and AI-driven baseball and softball training solutions. Their products—including TrainVR and SwingAI—help players and coaches accelerate skill development through real-time feedback, biomechanics analysis, and scalable training tools.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
New way of measuring blood pressure could be a lifeline for thousands of people
England: A new method for enhancing the accuracy of interpreting blood pressure measurements taken at the ankle may be critical for patients who are unable to have their arm blood pressure monitored. New research from the University of Exeter Medical School , analysed data from over 33,000 people to create a personalised predictive model for more accurately estimating arm blood pressure from ankle readings - when compared to previously available methods. The team has developed an online calculator for healthcare professionals and patients to interpret these readings effectively. High blood pressure affects over one billion people globally, increasing the risk of serious health issues like heart, brain, and kidney diseases. It's therefore very important to measure and interpret blood pressure readings as accurately as possible. While blood pressure is typically measured on the arm, sometimes this is not possible due to disability, missing limbs, or problems caused by conditions such as stroke. Blood pressure can be measured at the ankle instead, but these readings are generally higher than arm values. Standard guidelines for treating blood pressure are based on arm readings only, which creates complications in making accurate estimations based on ankle measurements, potentially leading to misdiagnoses. Professor Chris Clark from the University of Exeter Medical School led the study and said: "Our new method will give a more accurate blood pressure reading for around two percent more people. This doesn't sound a big number but remember, around a third of adults have high blood pressure and once you get into your 60s it's more than half of the adults. The NHS Health Check Programme diagnoses 38,000 new cases annually in England alone, so two percent equates to 750 fewer potential misdiagnoses per year in England, and tens of thousands globally." Researchers used statistical modelling on arm and ankle blood pressure readings from 33,710 people (mean age 58 years, 45 per cent female) across the world to help describe the relationship between arm and ankle blood pressures, predict arm blood pressure using ankle blood pressure readings, and predict important health outcomes (such as risk of heart attacks) from ankle blood pressure readings. This research could help address a health inequality by providing accurate and personalised blood pressure measurements for people who previously could not have their blood pressure measured accurately from their arm. It's estimated there are up to 10,000 adults currently living in the UK with upper limb loss, while 75 per cent of the country's 1.3 million stroke survivors have upper limb dysfunction, sometimes making it difficult to measure blood pressure from their arm. Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, said: "Someone in the UK has a stroke every five minutes, with high blood pressure accounting for around half of those. Around two-thirds of stroke survivors will leave hospital with some form of disability, including paralysis in an arm, which can prevent getting accurate blood pressure readings from the affected limb. Many stroke survivors feel anxious about having another stroke, so receiving an accurate blood pressure reading in the ankle will not only provide benefits in the primary prevention of stroke, but importantly in easing the minds of stroke survivors who are already dealing with the devastating impact of stroke." Professor Kevin Munro, Director of NIHR's Research for Patient Benefit Programme, said: "This research has identified an ingenious solution to an important problem - finding a way to measure blood pressure for people who cannot have it monitored via the upper arm. Keeping track of blood pressure is a vital tool to help keep people healthy and this NIHR-funded research will help to spot high blood pressure and treat it even more widely."
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Monster who raped and strangled 14-year-old schoolgirl is prime suspect in TWO MORE unsolved murders, says retired detective
Police are facing fresh calls to investigate whether the killer of a schoolgirl also carried out a notorious double murder amid fears that he could soon be freed on parole. Tony Jasinskyj, 68, was jailed for life in May 2002 after DNA advances linked him to the sadistic murder and rape of 14-year-old Marion Crofts in 1981 in Aldershot, Hampshire. MailOnline can reveal that the former Army chef is now making a new bid to win his freedom at a Parole Board hearing which could take place as early as this summer. But former police office turned crime author Chris Clark is convinced that Jasinskyj also murdered dog walkers Ann Lee, 44 and Margaret 'Peggy' Johnson, 66, who were stabbed to death in Aldershot on May 10, 1982. The cold case crime expert is now urging detectives to interview Jasinskyj about the unsolved double murders before his parole hearing. He is pointing to a series of uncanny similarities between the murders of Marion and the two women who were all killed within a year in Aldershot. All three victims were murdered in broad daylight in the garrison town which has a population of just over 30,000 people. But the most damning evidence against Jasinskyj is that he had a strong resemblance at the time to an artist's impression of the suspected killer of Mrs Lee and Mrs Johnson. Mr Clark, the author of seven top selling crime books, has been working on the unsolved murders for ten years, and plans to publish a book about them next year. The former murder squad detective for Norfolk Police, who once guarded the late Queen at Sandringham, fears that Jasinskyj is a timebomb waiting to explode. He sent a detailed email outlying his theories to Hampshire Police in November 2022 and its receipt was acknowledged. Detective Chief Inspector Adam Edwards, the forces Head of Major Crime, replied: 'Thank you for your correspondence in relation to the above. The information and opinion you have passed will be looked at within the context of the case information.' Mr Clark said he had not heard anything more from Hampshire police, despite what he describes as compelling evidence hidden in plain sight in the force's files The author said: 'I am convinced that Jasinskyj is a strong candidate for these murders. They fit his modus operandi and he was nearby when they happened. 'I believe they should actively investigate Jasinskyj and interview him in jail. The family of the dead women deserve some closure.' He added: 'The key point is the resemblance between Jasinskyj and a photofit of a man who was a suspect in the double murder. 'That man has never been traced and I believe him to be Tony Jasinskyj.' The artist impression was made with the help of Ministry of Defence policeman Brian Hackney who contacted police shortly after the murders of the two women Mr Hackney told officers how he had been out jogging shortly before the attack when he ran past the two victims on Aldershot Common. A little bit further along, he came across a suspicious man in a nearby lane who made him feel uneasy. Mr Hackney said he took a mental note of the man's face and gave a detailed description to a police artist, leading to the sketch being made. The likeness to Jasinsjyj was confirmed 12 years later when Christine White revealed she believed the same man tried to attack her in Bourley Woods, Aldershot. She told the Channel 4 series Trial and Error that she was walking her dogs in 1981 when the man began chasing her, and crashed into her boyfriend who was close by. The suspect ran away and she reported the attack to local police, but heard nothing more. Christine insisted in the 1993 programme that Mr Hackney's sketch was of the same man who had tried to pounce on her. Mr Clark said: 'Two sightings of a man these people believe to be the same person. It's circumstantial - but compelling.' The black-and-white artist sketch - published here for the first time in decades – shows the suspect and Jasinskyj having a similar shaped face, nose, arched eyebrows, hairline and thin lips. Mr Clark added: 'In the worst case scenario, we might only have months to properly investigate Tony Jasinskyj. He might be an elderly man now, but that doesn't mean he should escape questioning in a jail environment. 'I would also ask anyone out there with any knowledge or information on the murders of Ann Lee and Margaret Johnson to get in contact with the police. 'Time moves on, allegiances change and it only takes one bit of new information to give fresh impetus to the inquiry. 'In the meantime, I hope the Parole Board will not recommend that Jasinskyj be released - or even moved to an open prison, where, potentially, he will have access to weekend visits. 'He is a dangerous man who freely lived amongst us in the knowledge he had raped and murdered a young girl. It defies logic to think that Jasinskyj did not commit more serious crimes during this time.' Mother-of-two Mrs Lee, the wife of a retired army major, and her friend Mrs Johnson whose husband was a banking director, were exercising their dogs when they were attacked. The body of Mrs Lee was found on a path at the top of a small hillock with Red Setter dog Monty pining by her side. Mrs Johnson, a grandmother who had been married for 47 years, was 20 yards away, slumped by a five-bar gate where she had run to escape with her labrador. Although the murders had been committed in daylight and close to an Army base, there were no witnesses. A double edged knife was used to kill the women, but the weapon was never found, and there was no DNA evidence to help forensic analysis. It is believed that police initially discounted Jasinskyj's involvement after setting their sights on former soldier Peter Fell as a prime suspect. Fell had made 13 anonymous phone calls to police naming himself as the killer of the two women while he was drunk and depressed, with the first call being made the day after the murders. At first, he was not believed, and shortly after the killings he moved to Bournemouth where he became a school groundsman and married his fiancée Ann. A year later, he contacted police again and was arrested. He denied the murders and it was suggested that he made the calls to police as he was a 'fantasist'. But he was found guilty of the murders, described by the judge Mr Justice Nolan as 'dreadful crimes', and was given two life sentences at Winchester Crown Court in August 1984. Fell from Accrington, Lancashire, became a practising Christian in prison, and claimed his faith in God had helped him to cope with the ordeal of being wrongly jailed. He served 17 years behind bars before his murder convictions were quashed by three Appeal Court judges in March, 2001. His solicitor argued that Fell had only made a partial confession after being held in solitary confinement for 72 hours, denied access to a solicitor, despite repeated requests, and refused food. The lawyer added that the full extent of Fell's psychological condition had not been fully understood at the time of his conviction He was said to have come from an exceptionally deprived family background, was known to police as a fantasist and had even confessed in the past to being the Yorkshire Ripper. Five psychiatrists and psychologists from both the defence and prosecution established that Fell was so vulnerable that no reliance whatsoever could be placed upon his admission to the police, his solicitor added. The Appeal Court judges branded the police as 'reprehensible' for denying him a solicitor, and ruled that he was 'innocent of these terrible murders'. While Fell was serving his sentence, Jasinskyj remained a free man with the murder of Marion remained unsolved for more than 20 years. The teenager was the youngest of three daughters of Trevor and Anne Crofts and was attacked as she cycled four miles from her home in Fleet, Hampshire, to get to a clarinet lesson in near Farnborough on the morning of June 6, 1981 Her father would normally have driven her, but he was playing in a cricket match. Marion's route took her along Laffans Road in Aldershot beside the Basingstoke Canal where she was beaten unconscious, and left with severe bruising and a bleed on the brain. She was dragged into a wooded area by the side of the road where she was raped and murdered. Her attacker left traces of his DNA in and on her body as well as on her jeans and her left sock before hiding her body in undergrowth where it was found later that that day by a police dog handler. Marion's clarinet case was flung into the nearby Basingstoke Canal where it was later retrieved. Jasinskyj was a lance corporal at the time in the Army Catering Corps based in Aldershot, and living with his pregnant wife Lynn in Army married quarters about a mile and a half away from the murder scene. He was among hundreds of men questioned at the time of the murder. A proper DNA profile could not be extracted from samples found on Marion at the time, and evidence was stored in the hope that scientific advances in the future would enable a match to be made with her killer. The murder remained a cold case until new techniques allowed a DNA profile to be obtained from the samples in 1999. The profile was continually checked against the UK National DNA Database for the next two years until it was matched to Jasinskyj, after he was arrested for his assaulting his second wife and given a routine DNA test. By then, he had been discharged from the Army Catering Corps and was working as a security guard in Leicester. He was arrested in April 2001 and denied the rape and murder of Marion, but was convicted at Winchester Crown Court after a four week trial due to the 'one in a billion' match of his DNA with samples found on Marion. Judge Michael Brodrick told Jasinskyj that he had committed a 'cruel and callous murder' and had given Marion's family 21 years of suffering as they thought of 'the final, dreadful, brutal moments of her life'. Jasinskyj who has never admitted conviction in 2014, arguing that the DNA evidence against him was 'flawed', but judges ruled the said original verdict was 'entirely safe' and dismissed his claim as 'fanciful'. After Mr Fell was cleared of the double murders in 2002, Hampshire police launched an investigation into Jasinskyj. They made the highly unusual assertion that it was 'highly probable he is responsible for other serious crimes'. Mr Fell claimed at the time that police had told him they suspected there was a link between all three murders. But he claimed they then dropped the line of inquiry after realising he was serving with the Army in Germany when Marion was murdered. Mr Fell told the Lancashire Telegraph in May 2002 how he believed police should reopen inquiries into the murder of Mrs Lee and Mrs Johnson. He said: 'The police in my view must reopen the case because who knows if this person has killed before or since. 'Having got away with it for so many years they may feel confident of doing it again. 'I am very much interested in this new development because I am aware from the media coverage prior to my arrest that Hampshire Police believed that there was a connection between the two cases.' He added: 'Just prior to my release on bail the police came to take a DNA sample from me and they then cleared me from the Marion Crofts inquiry completely. 'Why come and see me if they knew I was out of the country at the time and they don't believe there was a link between the two cases? 'It appears that this Tony Jasinskyj was operating all over the country from what has been said.' Marion's heartbroken father Trevor, then 84, said in April 2022: 'I hate Jasinskyj. Given the right opportunity and a gun, I would shoot him. 'Or if he was going to be hung, I would pull the trapdoor. I'm old and dilapidated but, while I'm still here, I don't want him free.' A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: 'Where an undetected/unresolved Major Crime case is approved for closure, it will become a 'Cold Case'. 'Cold Cases such as this remain open, and all information and evidence available to police is periodically reviewed by the Serious Crime Review Team.' A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm the parole review of Tony Jasinskyj has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.' Jasinskyj's case is currently undergoing a Member Case Assessment (MCA), the first stage in the parole process that normally leads to a full appeal. The Parole Board can recommend a move to an open prison or release on licence. At a previous parole hearing in 2022, Jasinskyj told the board he was no longer a danger to the public. The appeal was rejected.
