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A private European aerospace company scrubbed its attempt on Monday to launch the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle from Norway.Unfavorable winds meant that the Spectrum rocket couldn’t be launched from the island of Andya in northern Norway, Munich-based Isar Aerospace said.The launch is subject to various factors, including weather and safety. The company said it could also conduct the test flight later in the week. Another date hasn’t yet been set.The 28-meter (91-foot) Spectrum is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for small and medium-size satellites.The company has largely ruled out the possibility of the rocket reaching orbit on its first complete flight, saying that it would consider a 30-second flight a success. Isar Aerospace aims to collect as much data and experience as possible on the first integrated test of all the systems on its in-house-developed launch vehicle.The startup, which says it has raised more than 400 million euros ($435 million) in capital, hopes to build up to 40 launch vehicles per year in the future at a plant outside of Munich. The launch vehicles are all to be used for putting satellites into orbit.Isar Aerospace is separate from the European Space Agency, or ESA, which is funded by its 23 member states.ESA has been launching rockets and satellites into orbit for years, but mainly from French Guianaan overseas department of France in South Americaand from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
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E-Commerce
Described as the worst U.S. security breach in a generation, the leak is an unprecedented failure for the White House. For several days, a journalist from The Atlantic had unrestricted access to a private Signal group chat involving the highest levels of governmentdiscussing, in real time, an imminent U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. And no one in the administration had a clue. Investigations are already underway to determine how such a blunder could happen. But the core issue requires no deep forensic analysis: the failure was human. According to reports, The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a Signal chat that included the presidents national security adviser and the secretary of defenseapparently because National Security Adviser Michael Waltz misidentified Goldberg (whose display name was simply J.G.) as a government official. Its a pretty egregious failing, says Robert Pritchard, a former deputy head of the U.K.s Cyber Security Operations Center. While apps like Signal or WhatsApp offer strong encryption and are widely used for coordination, Pritchard notes that such tools are not appropriate for sensitive or classified communicationnot because the apps themselves are insecure, but because the devices and, crucially, the users are. Or, to put it more bluntly: the problem is the people using them. Signal is no substitute for good operational security, says Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity professor at the University of Surrey. Invite someone to your chat group, and of course they can read everything. The potential fallout is enormous. It may sound extreme, but this is the sort of failure that could get people killed, warns Woodward. Its fortunate the journalist chose not to share all the information and waited until after the relevant events unfolded.” Beyond the immediate security risks, the episode reveals a deeper institutional problem: the lack of transparency and proper recordkeeping when government business is conducted on third-party messaging apps with disappearing messages. Even more troubling to some experts is the likelihood of it happening again. Human mistakes happenand they will continue to happen, says Lukasz Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity consultant and visiting senior research fellow at Kings College London. And policies will be violated. What comes next is unclear. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly claimed no war or attack plans were shared in the chatsomething The Atlantic‘s Goldberg disputes, calling the statement a lie. I would imagine there is a big clean-up operation ongoing right now, says Pritchard, the former Cyber Security Operations Center deputy. “All those devices need to be wiped, including any secondary devices that have the same Signal account accessible on them, and there need to be investigations into what else has gone on on Signal.” But cleanup may be to little, too late. After all, the leaked chats are a goldmine for adversaries. Among the damage is a leak of fragments of information potentially allowing people to compose a psychological profile of U.S. leaders, says Kings College London’s Olejnikfrom their emoji use to the vice presidents candid feelings about Donald Trump. In the end, this wasnt a failure of technologyit was a failure of judgment. And it may take more than a wiped device to repair the damage.
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E-Commerce
South Korea’s Hyundai Steel will invest $5.8 billion along with Hyundai Motor Group to build a steel plant in the U.S. state of Louisiana with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Hyundai Steel shares initially jumped more than 5% on the news but reversed early gains to end 7% lower as U.S. President Donald Trump praised the company’s plan. Hyundai Steel’s proposed new U.S. steel plant is part of Hyundai Motor Group’s plan to invest $21 billion in the United States, which was announced by the South Korean company’s chairman with Trump at the White House on Monday. The move is seen as an effort by Hyundai to shield itself from U.S. tariffs on steel and cars, but it is not clear whether this will help secure exemptions for Hyundai and South Korea. Trump has threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on numerous countries on April 2, potentially targeting South Korea that has a large trade surplus with the United States. Shares of Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Corp, which are expected to source steel from the proposed factory, rallied. Hyundai Motor shares ended up 3.3% after rising as much as 7.5% to their highest since October 2024. Kia closed up 2.1%. Analysts have, however, expressed concerns about how Hyundai Steel, which has billions of dollars in debt, would fund the construction of the factory. There are also execution risks associated with the new technology of using electric furnaces to produce automotive steel, they said. “It is not clear whether the investment will benefit Hyundai Steel in the future,” said Lee Tae-hwan, an analyst at Daishin Securities. Hyundai Steel said it will cover half the costs, with the remainder invested by its parent company and other investors. The factory, which will make automotive steel, will be constructed from 2026 to 2029, the company said. Hyundai Steel is an affiliate of automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors which have factories in the United States. Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon Lee, Reuters
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