In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:

  • Feds say Apple repudiates iPhone order
  • Some big tech firms back Apple
  • A record number of applicants for NASA astronaut spots
  • Yahoo’s board has formed a committee to explore options for the company

The details:

  • Feds file motion in Apple case

The Justice Department is firing back at Apple for refusing to help unlock a phone used by one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino attack.

In a new motion Friday, federal prosecutors say the company has chosen to repudiate a judge’s order instead of following it.

The department also says Apple designs its products to allow technology — “rather than the law” — to control access to critical data.

Prosecutors also make clear that Apple would be allowed to retain possession of the phone and technology.

The motion offers a sharply worded response to a message that Apple’s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, said in a message to Apple customers this week.

It represents a further escalation in a public relations battle that the two sides are waging.

  • Some tech firms support Apple

The tech industry is starting to line up with Apple in its fight against the federal government over the encryption it uses to keep iPhones secure.

Earlier this week, a U.S. magistrate ordered Apple to help investigators break into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. Apple was given until Tuesday to challenge that ruling, but a person familiar with the case says Apple has been granted an extension until next Friday.

The court order sets the stage for a legal clash that could determine whether tech companies or government authorities get the final say on just how secure devices like smartphones can be.

Federal officials say they’re only asking Apple for limited assistance. Other leading tech companies were initially silent when the case erupted. But several are now voicing support for Apple CEO Tim Cook’s argument that the federal order would degrade iPhone security, making users more vulnerable to spies and cyber thieves.

“We stand with @tim_cook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)!” Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet Thursday afternoon.

In a statement late Thursday, Facebook said it condemns terrorism and also appreciates the essential work of law enforcement in keeping people safe. But it said it will “fight aggressively” against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems.

“These demands would create a chilling precedent and obstruct companies’ efforts to secure their products,” the statement said.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai had earlier voiced support for Apple in a series of tweets. “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy,” Pichai wrote on Wednesday, adding that the case “could be a troubling precedent.”

Yahoo’s chief information security officer, Bob Lord, chimed in with his support of Apple, although there was no word from that company’s embattled CEO, Marissa Mayer.

“Ordering a company to hack one targeted system is clearly the first step to ordering them to backdoor them all,” Lord tweeted Friday with the hashtags “slipperyslope” and “usersfirst.”

  • Space travel never looked so good.

NASA announced Friday it received a record number of applicants — some 18,300 — for its next astronaut class. That’s more than double the previous record of 8,000 for the first space shuttle astronaut class in 1978. This time, NASA hit social media hard to promote the openings.

The odds of getting picked are small; only eight to 14 Americans will be chosen. NASA expects it will take 1½ years to whittle down the list. Candidates need to be U.S. citizens with a bachelor’s degree in science, math or engineering.

“It’s not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former space shuttle commander, said in a statement.

Like the eight-member Class of 2013, the future astronauts will train to fly to the International Space Station on capsules under development by SpaceX and Boeing, as well as on NASA’s Orion spacecraft intended for deep-space exploration. NASA aims to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.

The two-month application period closed Thursday. The first astronaut class was the Mercury 7 chosen in 1959.

  • Yahoo committee to mull options

Yahoo’s board has created a committee of independent directors and hired a trio of economic advisers in its long-running bid to redefine itself.

Shares rose more than 3 percent before the opening bell Friday.

Yahoo Inc. is under extraordinary pressure from big shareholders who are threating a proxy fight with the company. It cut 15 percent of its staff earlier this month with investors pushing for a sale of Yahoo’s core Internet operations after 3 1/2 years of declining revenue under CEO Marissa Mayer.

The company on Friday said that it had hired Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and PJT Partners Inc. as advisers to the new committee tasked with engaging interested strategic and financial parties.

Mayer said in a written statement Friday that splitting off Yahoo’s lucrative stake in China’s Alibaba is “essential” to boost shareholder value.