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Rocket Lab launches artificial "star" into space

U.S. aerospace manufacturer Rocket Lab launched four satellites into orbit on Monday, among them a geodesic sphere that the company claims will be the "brightest object in the night sky," according to Quartz.

Why it matters: The "Humanity Star," as its known, is made up of 65 reflective panels that will create a flashing effect in the sky as the object orbits Earth every 90 minutes. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck views the project as more than just a publicity stunt, claiming in a statement that it symbolizes the need to "make big decisions in the context of humanity as a whole."

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
27 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 7: Trump turns on Pence

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Elijah Nouvelage, Alex Wong/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. Axios takes you inside the collapse of a president with a special series.

Episode 7: Trump turns on Pence. Trump believes the vice president can solve all his problems by simply refusing to certify the Electoral College results. It's a simple test of loyalty: Trump or the U.S. Constitution.

"The end is coming, Donald."

The male voice in the TV ad boomed through the White House residence during "Fox & Friends" commercial breaks. Over and over and over. "The end is coming, Donald. ... On Jan. 6, Mike Pence will put the nail in your political coffin."

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Margaret Harding McGill, Ashley Gold, Ina Fried
32 mins ago - Technology

Big Tech's post-riot reckoning

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The Capitol insurrection means the anti-tech talk in Washington is more likely to lead to action, since it's ever clearer that the attack was planned, at least in part, on social media.

Why it matters: The big platforms may have hoped they'd move to D.C.'s back burner, with the Hill focused on the Biden agenda and the pandemic out of control. But now, there'll be no escaping harsh scrutiny.

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Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
38 mins ago - Technology

Why domestic terrorists are so hard to police online

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Domestic terrorism has proven to be more difficult for Big Tech companies to police online than foreign terrorism.

The big picture: That's largely because the politics are harder. There's more unity around the need to go after foreign extremists than domestic ones — and less danger of overreaching and provoking a backlash.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow