Month: June 2020

Enlarge / This image shows the Zefiro-23 second stage being installed onto the P80 first stage at the Vega Launch Site in February, in Kourou, French Guiana. (credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace)

Nearly a year has gone by since an Italian-made Vega rocket launched a 1.2-ton satellite from French Guiana only to subsequently fail at reaching orbit. Now, the Vega rocket is set for its return-to-flight mission on Thursday night at 9:51pm ET (01:51 UTC Friday). It will be broadcast on ESA Web TV.

This is an important mission for more than just getting the Vega rocket back on track. It also is the first launch of a rocket from the European spaceport in French Guiana since February, after which the facility closed down due to COVID-19 precautions.

Additionally, with this mission, the small Vega booster seeks to prove its bona fides as a booster capable of flying rideshare missions. On this launch, the rocket will debut the "Small Spacecraft Mission Service" dispenser to deploy payloads of varying sizes into multiple orbits.

Enlarge (credit: Yuri Samoilov Follow / Flickr)

Under pressure from privacy and human rights advocates, Zoom said on Wednesday that it will make end-to-end encryption available to both paying and non-paying users of its video conferencing service.

Previously, Zoom said it would provide end-to-end encryption to paying customers and a less-robust form of encryption, known as transit encryption, to non-paying customers. Zoom said the two-tier offering would allow law enforcement to regulate illicit content coming from users who don’t have accounts and, hence, are harder to track. Paying users, by contrast, had more traceability and, hence, were less likely to use the platform for illegal purposes.

Critics in privacy and human rights circles said the Zoom plans threatened to make privacy a premium feature rather than something that’s available by default. The critics called on Zoom to provide the same protections for all users.

Enlarge / AT&T service van driving in June 2019 in Oakdale, California. (credit: Getty Images | Andrei Stanescu)

AT&T is cutting 3,400 union jobs from its wireline broadband and phone network operations as well as closing 250 wireless retail stores, according to a union that represents AT&T employees. Wireline job cuts are initially "voluntary" through buyouts, but AT&T will proceed to layoffs if not enough workers volunteer.

The total number of planned job cuts is apparently more than double that, because AT&T told Ars that it is cutting even more non-union jobs than union jobs. The cuts are a continuation of what AT&T has called a multi-year "headcount-rationalization" project.

"AT&T has informed the Communications Workers of America (CWA) of its plans to cut over 3,400 technician and clerical jobs across the country over the next few weeks," the union said in a press release yesterday. "In addition, the company plans to permanently shutter over 250 AT&T Mobility and Cricket Wireless stores, impacting 1,300 retail jobs."

Enlarge / Search and rescue crews dig through the burnt remains of a business as they search for human remains on November 21, 2018 in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise, charring over 150,000 acres. (credit: Justin Sullivan | Getty Images)

California utility firm Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that it was responsible for the deaths of more than 80 people in a massive 2018 wildfire caused by its equipment.

The fire, known as the Camp Fire, began in November 2018 when two PG&E power lines came into contact with nearby dry brush, sparking flames. Eighty-five people died in the fire, which also destroyed 18,800 structures.

Months of investigation by state and federal authorities found that PG&E had for years failed to conduct maintenance on the power lines that failed, according to the report (PDF) published by the Butte County district attorney's office. In March, the district attorney filed an indictment (PDF) charging PG&E with 85 felony counts: one for unlawfully causing a fire and 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.