An effort by Isar Aerospace to become the first European commercial space company to launch an orbital rocket from continental Europe failed in spectacular fashion when the vehicle lost control and exploded soon after liftoff on Sunday.The inaugural launch of the two-stage Spectrum rocket took place at the Andya Spaceport in Norway at 12:30 p.m. local time.The 28-meter-tall rocket made a clean departure from the launchpad and appeared to be doing well as it roared skyward. But about 18 seconds into its flight, the vehicle lost control before falling back to Earth and exploding in the sea.Please enable Javascript to view this contentIn a widely reported statement, Isar Aerospace said that despite the abrupt end to the mission, it had met its goals, adding: After ignition of its first stage, Spectrum successfully lifted off for its first test flight lasting approximately 30 seconds. This allowed the company to gather a substantial amount of flight data and experience to apply on future missions.Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), also commented, saying: Success to get off the pad, and lots of data already obtained. I am sure Isar Aerospace will learn a lot.Aschbacher added: Rocket launch is hard. Never give up, move forward with even more energy!Founded in 2018, Germany-based Isar Aerospace designed and manufactured the rocket entirely in-house, including its high-pressure turbopump-fed Aquila engines. The vehicle uses liquid oxygen and propane as propellants, offering high performance with minimal environmental impact.No payloads were aboard the rocket on Sundays maiden flight, but its designed to carry payloads of up to 1,000 kilograms to low-Earth orbit.If it can perfect its Spectrum rocket, Isar Aerospace is planning to carve out a niche in the small-to-medium payload launch market, similar to the approach of the successful New Zealand startup Rocket Lab, which itself is growing fast to become a SpaceX competitor in the small-satellite launch sector.Following Sundays mission, Daniel Metzler, Isar Aerospaces CEO and co-founder, said: As a company with European roots, we are proud to have shown that Europe has an enduring capacity for bold thinking and grand achievements. We will be able to serve customers from around the world to bring their satellites into space and to help Europe solve a major blind spot in its security architecture: access to space.Editors Recommendations

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President Donald Trump announced a deal with Skadden from the Oval Office. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images 2025-03-30T23:36:42Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Brenna Frey resigned from Skadden after the firm inked a deal with the Trump administration.It marks another public resignation from the firm. Rachel Cohen did the same.The firm said it would provide $100M in pro bono work to causes supported by the administration.After President Donald Trump announced a deal with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on Friday, Brenna Frey decided she had had enough.Frey, an associate at the firm's Washington, DC office who said she has worked in Big Law for over a decade, told Business Insider on Sunday it was a "dealbreaker" for her that Skadden chose to preemptively reach an agreement with the administration to avoid punitive executive actions similar to those taken against other law firms like Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and WilmerHale,In recent weeks,Trump has targeted several Big Law firmswith executive actions that strip their lawyers of security clearances and order reviews of their government contracts. Some firms, like Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, have fought the orders in court, while others, like Paul Weiss and Skadden, have chosen to sign agreements to avoid the legal headache."The deal was announced, and that was it for me," Frey said, noting that she was "absolutely not considering leaving" prior to Skadden's decision to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes that Trump supports. The firm also promised it would not "engage in illegal DEI discrimination," according to a copy of the agreement that Trump posted on Truth Social.In her resignation announcement posted on LinkedIn, Frey called Skadden's deal with Trump "a craven attempt to sacrifice the rule of law for self-preservation."She told BI she wanted to make her resignation public to signal solidarity with those disappointed or angered by the agreement."I know there are people still at the firm who can't leave for whatever reason, financial reasons, needing to pay back law school loans, the breadwinner for their family," she said. "I knew that those people can't speak out, so because I was able to, I felt it was important to make that public."In her LinkedIn post, Frey quoted Rachel Cohen, another former Skadden associate who resigned earlier this month in a firm-wide email. Frey said she also tried to send her resignation to all of Skadden's US firms but found the distribution lists disabled.Two other Skadden associates told BI that they, too, had tried to send firm-wide emails seeking more information about the deal but found that access to the internal distribution lists had been blocked after Cohen's resignation.In her March 20 resignation email to Skadden that she posted on LinkedIn, CohenCohen, who worked at the firm's Chicago office, wrote a response to Frey's LinkedIn post on Friday, complimenting her decision to "stand for the rule of law.""Brennayou and many others are the reason that I will never be ashamed to say I worked at Skadden Arps, despite leadership's determination to try to ruin the firm's name," Cohen wrote.Frey said she's gotten support from some associates within Skadden, as well as from people outside the firm."With respect to Big Law more generally, I'm grateful that the world is watching, that clients are watching," she said. "There are examples of firms out there who have successfully fought back."While firms like Skadden and Paul Weiss have inked deals with the president, drawing ire from many within the industry,Jenner & Block and WilmerHale are two of those firms. In both cases, judges approved temporary restraining orders to halt Trump's executive actions. The judges in both cases expressed concern that the targeted actions threatened the rule of law."I hope that they look to the firms who have fought back about against this infringement on the rule of law, rather than the firms who have chosen to acquiesce to the Trump administration's demands," Frey said.Recommended video

During the presidential election, the economy was Trump's key advantage. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images 2025-03-30T23:26:18Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Trump campaigned on a promise to lower everyday prices for Americans.A new CBS News/YouGov poll found that most adults think he isn't living up to that promise.The same survey showed that most Americans think he's been too focused on tariffs.Most Americans say President Donald Trump isn't focused enough on lowering costs, a new survey found.In a new CBS News/YouGov survey, which polled 2,609 US adults in late March, 64% of respondents said Trump wasn't focused enough on lowering the prices of goods and services. Meanwhile, 31% of respondents said Trump has given the issue the "right amount" of focus.Since taking office in January, Trump has made waves with his tariff policies, which have disrupted longstanding geopolitical alliances over what he perceives to be unfair trade practices.In the same survey, 55% of respondents said Trump was placing too much emphasis on tariffs, while 38% said he was devoting the right amount of focus to the issue.Overall, 52% of respondents disapproved of Trump's handling of the economy, compared to 48% who approved.Trump won over a crucial slice of swing voters in the general election with his economic message. Many voters hoped he would lower grocery costs and tamp down inflation.Trump's multiple trade conflicts, however, could have lasting repercussions for US consumers.Recommended video

Namana House / Wright InspiresSave this picture! Studio f/8 - Mr. DineshArchitects: Wright InspiresAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:2745 ftYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Studio f/8 - Mr. DineshManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Grohe, Wienerberger, ACC, Asian Paints, Baliapatnam tiles, Fenesta, Hettich & Hafele, LedLum Lead Architect: Ar.Prathima Seethur More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Namana is an east-facing home situated on a compact 60'x50' plot beside a serene vineyard. Designed for a family of three, the single-story residence emphasizes spatial fluidity, natural illumination, and a tactile material palette that evokes warmth and simplicity.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The plan comprises three bedrooms, an open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area, a deity room, and a recreational basement. The spatial arrangement ensures visual continuity while preserving zones of privacy. Skylights, jaalis, and voids are thoughtfully placed to channel daylight into the interiors, creating a soft interplay of light and shadow that shifts with the day.Save this picture!Save this picture!A monolithic slab of natural stone defines the deity room, its intricate grains imparting a quiet, sculptural presence. This stone slab continues into the foyer, creating a seamless visual transition and anchoring the home's material expression. Framing the main entrance, vertically positioned stone slabs offer a restrained yet impactful gesture, grounding the faade.Save this picture!The basement is articulated through corrugated sheet shuttering, giving the exposed concrete walls a textural rhythm that enhances both aesthetics and acoustics. The uneven surfaces scatter and absorb sound, reducing reverberation and making the basement ideal for activities like music, films, or gatherings.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Stepped seating adds to the basement's versatility, seamlessly combining informal lounging and storage solutions. The layered configuration is not just practical but also reinforces the textural depth of the space, creating a visually engaging yet highly functional area.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Exposed clay blocks, filler slabs, and natural stone are chosen for their thermal efficiency, durability, and contextual relevance. The exposed clay blocks lend a textured vibrancy to the walls, while the angular profiles of the filler slabs create rhythmic ceilings that enhance spatial character and thermal performance. Natural stone surfaces, with their inherent grains and tones, act as quiet yet powerful focal points throughout the design.Save this picture!Glass is incorporated into the walls, allowing natural light to stream through in stripes during the day, creating an intriguing detail. Leather-finished Kota limestone is used throughout Namana for its understated elegance, durability, and practicality. Its soft texture and muted tones bring warmth to the interiors while enhancing the home's earthy aesthetic.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Passive strategies like skylights and jaalis enhance ventilation and illumination, reducing dependence on artificial systems. These elements, combined with the tactile material palette, ground the home in its surroundings and establish a dialogue with the natural environment. The design of the home creates a serene conversation between its structure, light, and materials, cultivating a feeling of tranquility and harmony.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeWright InspiresOfficePublished on March 31, 2025Cite: "Namana House / Wright Inspires" 30 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028520/namana-house-wright-inspires&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

For a horror game to stand out from the competition, it needs come across as immersive and believable. One way developers go about achieving this is by making sound an important part of the core gameplay. While it's not uncommon for horror games to include bait mechanics, where players can toss out a rock while sneaking around an area to cause a distraction, some titles have taken this to the extreme, forcing players to be more strategic when it comes to navigating their environments.

Kentaro Miura's Berserk is the epitome of seinen manga. The author managed to create a dark, twisted fantasy that was somehow still elegant. Berserk has many notable features that make it stand out from all the other manga titles. Firstly, the art of the series is phenomenal, and only a few titles come close.

Celebrating the two-decades anniversary of the Robert Rodriguez film.I remember getting the two-disc DVD collectors edition of Sin City and watching a featurette on there called The Movie in High-Speed Green Screen. It was, exactly that. Director Robert Rodriguez presented just the raw elements shot at his Troublemaker Studios on greenscreen, which had been sped up about 800 times to form a 10 minute take on the movie.This was an amazing thing to see. Along with the DVDs other informative featuretes, I learnt a lot. I certainly wish other filmmakers did something similar on these kinds of films. Of course, Wes Ball released the ENTIRE version of his Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes with the raw performance capture plates (called Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut) on Blu-ray recently, and I highly recommend it. Please, lets make this a thing again. In the meantime, this week represents the 20th anniversary of Sin City, a film that capitalized appropriately on the digital backlot style of filmmaking and made it work perfectly for Frank Millers source material. A bevy of effects studios contributed to the film, including KNB EFX Group, Troublemaker Digital Studios, Hybride, CafeFX and The Orphanage. Congrats to all of them, and thank you Robert Rodriguez for bringing Sin City to life, and being willing to explain and reveal the process.The post That all-greenscreen version of Sin City rocked my world 20 years ago appeared first on befores & afters.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 31.

a strong musky smell What could possibly go wrong? DOGE to rapidly rebuild Social Security codebase. A safe and proper rewrite should take years not months. Makena Kelly, wired.com Mar 29, 2025 10:08 am | 585 Credit: Tigermad Credit: Tigermad Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administrations (SSA) computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the systemand the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans relyat risk.The project is being organized by Elon Musk lieutenant Steve Davis, multiple sources who were not given permission to talk to the media tell WIRED, and aims to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL, one of the first common business-oriented programming languages, and onto a more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight timeframe of a few months.Under any circumstances, a migration of this size and scale would be a massive undertaking, experts tell WIRED, but the expedited deadline runs the risk of obstructing payments to the more than 65 million people in the US currently receiving Social Security benefits.Of course one of the big risks is not underpayment or overpayment per se but [its also] not paying someone at all and not knowing about it. The invisible errors and omissions, an SSA technologist tells WIRED.The Social Security Administration did not immediately reply to WIREDs request for comment.SSA has been under increasing scrutiny from President Donald Trumps administration. In February, Musk took aim at SSA, falsely claiming that the agency was rife with fraud. Specifically, Musk pointed to data he allegedly pulled from the system that showed 150-year-olds in the US were receiving benefits, something that isnt actually happening. Over the last few weeks, following significant cuts to the agency by DOGE, SSA has suffered frequent website crashes and long wait times over the phone, The Washington Post reported this week.This proposed migration isnt the first time SSA has tried to move away from COBOL: In 2017, SSA announced a plan to receive hundreds of millions in funding to replace its core systems. The agency predicted that it would take around five years to modernize these systems. Because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the agency pivoted away from this work to focus on more public-facing projects.Like many legacy government IT systems, SSA systems contain code written in COBOL, a programming language created in part in the 1950s by computing pioneer Grace Hopper. The Defense Department essentially pressured private industry to use COBOL soon after its creation, spurring widespread adoption and making it one of the most widely used languages for mainframes, or computer systems that process and store large amounts of data quickly, by the 1970s. (At least one DOD-related website praising Hopper's accomplishments is no longer active, likely following the Trump administrations DEI purge of military acknowledgements.)As recently as 2016, SSAs infrastructure contained more than 60 million lines of code written in COBOL, with millions more written in other legacy coding languages, the agencys Office of the Inspector General found. In fact, SSAs core programmatic systems and architecture havent been substantially updated since the 1980s when the agency developed its own database system called MADAM, or the Master Data Access Method, which was written in COBOL and Assembler, according to SSAs 2017 modernization plan.SSAs core logic is also written largely in COBOL. This is the code that issues social security numbers, manages payments, and even calculates the total amount beneficiaries should receive for different services, a former senior SSA technologist who worked in the office of the chief information officer says. Even minor changes could result in cascading failures across programs.If you weren't worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead, says Dan Hon, principal of Very Little Gravitas, a technology strategy consultancy that helps government modernize services, about completing such a migration in a short timeframe.Its unclear when exactly the code migration would start. A recent document circulated amongst SSA staff laying out the agencys priorities through May does not mention it, instead naming other priorities like terminating non-essential contracts and adopting artificial intelligence to augment administrative and technical writing.Earlier this month, WIRED reported that at least 10 DOGE operatives were currently working within SSA, including a number of young and inexperienced engineers like Luke Farritor and Ethan Shaotran. At the time, sources told WIRED that the DOGE operatives would focus on how people identify themselves to access their benefits online.Sources within SSA expect the project to begin in earnest once DOGE identifies and marks remaining beneficiaries as deceased and connecting disparate agency databases. In a Thursday morning court filing, an affidavit from SSA acting administrator Leland Dudek said that at least two DOGE operatives are currently working on a project formally called the Are You Alive Project targeting what these operatives believe to be improper payments and fraud within the agencys system by calling individual beneficiaries. The agency is currently battling for sweeping access to SSAs systems in court to finish out this work. (Again, 150-year-olds are not collecting social security benefits. That specific age was likely a quirk of COBOL. It doesnt include a date type, so dates are often coded to a specific reference pointMay 20, 1875, the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the Convention du Mtre.)In order to migrate all COBOL code into a more modern language within a few months, DOGE would likely need to employ some form of generative artificial intelligence to help translate the millions of lines of code, sources tell WIRED. DOGE thinks if they can say they got rid of all the COBOL in months then their way is the right way and we all just suck for not breaking shit, says the SSA technologist.DOGE would also need to develop tests to ensure the new systems outputs match the previous one. It would be difficult to resolve all of the possible edge cases over the course of several years, let alone months, adds the SSA technologist.This is an environment that is held together with bail wire and duct tape, the former senior SSA technologist working in the office of the chief information officer tells WIRED. The leaders need to understand that theyre dealing with a house of cards or Jenga. If they start pulling pieces out, which theyve already stated theyre doing, things can break.This story originally appeared on wired.com.Makena Kelly, wired.com Wired.com is your essential daily guide to what's next, delivering the most original and complete take you'll find anywhere on innovation's impact on technology, science, business and culture. 585 Comments