Latest news with #WhiteSands
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Rocket Lab signs $460 million deal with US missile tracking tech company
An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army The headline of this story has been updated to remove the suggestion that Rocket Lab will build a missile defence system as part of the deal. California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system. It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million. Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said. These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website . The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more. Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms race involving space. Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security. "Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website. "By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said. The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
With 'Atmosphere,' Taylor Jenkins Reid leaves the Evelyn Hugo-verse behind and travels to space
Taylor Jenkins Reid recalls a moment writing her new novel, 'Atmosphere: A Love Story,' set against NASA's robust 1980s shuttle program, where she felt stuck. She went, where she often goes, to her husband to talk it through. 'I said, 'I can't write this book. I don't know enough about the space shuttle. I don't know what happens when the payload bay doors won't shut and you have to get back within a certain amount of revs, but they can't land at White Sands. They have to land at Cape Kennedy.' And he's like, 'Just listen to yourself. You know so much more than you knew a couple months ago. Keep doing what you're doing.''
Al-Ahram Weekly
27-02-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt prosecution orders 4-day detention of 14 suspects in FBC fraud scheme - Courts & Law
The Public Prosecution ordered Thursday a four-day detention of 14 suspects in the FBC online fraud scheme. Related Egypt arrests 13 suspects in FBC online fraud scheme According to the prosecution's statement, the suspects include 12 Egyptians, one Chinese, and one Japanese. Investigations revealed four of them had appeared in promotional videos for the FBC platform. The prosecution also seized around EGP 1 million in cash and several mobile phones, computers used to manage the platform, and 1,135 SIM cards prepared for activating digital wallets to receive funds. Additionally, the prosecution seized the suspects' assets and directed the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT) to examine the seized devices and analyze the platform's website link. The prosecution also tasked law enforcement authorities to arrest the remaining fugitives, with investigations ongoing. According to the prosecution's statement, 310 citizens have filed complaints, with reported losses exceeding EGP 8.2 million – a figure significantly higher than initial estimates. Through its investigations, the prosecution confirmed that the platform's administrators had collected funds from citizens through digital wallets. It identified those administrators and some of these digital wallets' numbers and ordered the seizure of the transferred funds. Additionally, the prosecution reviewed circulating promotional social media videos for the platform and identified the individuals who appeared in them. The platform administrators claimed that a cyberattack rendered the service inoperable and that they had reported the incident to the EG-CERT. However, this claim was denied by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA). On Monday, the Ministry of Interior arrested 13 suspects involved in the incident. The FBC fraud scheme is an online scam that has deceived Egyptians by promising quick profits through fake investment opportunities. The platform claimed to be a licensed international entity. To attract investors, it used social media and a "pyramid-style referral system." The FBC scam is part of a larger trend of online fraud schemes that have emerged globally. Notable cases include the White Sands scam in 2022, which deceived millions of Egyptians, and HoggPool in 2023, which defrauded victims of billions. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
