In today’s Bulldog wrapup of science and technology news:

  • Virgin Galactic says it has received an operating license for its space tourism rocket
  • The Israeli military is warning its soldiers about a new threat: the widely popular mobile phone game “Pokemon Go”
  • Daimler invests in chauffeur service start-up Blacklane
  • A judge tosses patent verdict against Apple, orders new trials

The details:

  • Virgin Galactic gets space tourism rocket operating license

Virgin Galactic says it has received an operating license for its space tourism rocket from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Virgin Galactic says the operating license awarded by the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation will ultimately permit commercial operations.

The company said Monday the licensing process involved a review of the system’s design, safety analysis and flight trajectory analysis.

Virgin Galatic’s first spaceship broke apart in 2014 during its fourth rocket-powered test flight when the co-pilot prematurely unlocked a key system.

The second version of the company’s SpaceShipTwo was unveiled in February.

The first taxi test of the new spacecraft took place Monday morning at the Mojave, California, airport.

The taxi test evaluated and calibrated navigation and communications telemetry systems as it was pulled by a sports utility vehicle.

  • Israeli army identifies a new threat: ‘Pokemon Go’

The Israeli military is warning its soldiers about a new threat: the widely popular mobile phone game “Pokemon Go.”

The army said Monday it has banned its forces from playing the game on Israeli military bases due to security concerns. In a directive to soldiers and officers, the army warned the game activates cell phone cameras and location services, and could leak sensitive information like army base locations and photographs of the bases.

The military is also concerned that soldiers could download a fake application that impersonates “Pokemon Go” but could leak information from soldiers’ phones.

“Pokemon Go” players roam streets and buildings holding up their mobile phones and following a digital map to catch creatures that appear on the screen.

Israeli civilians are also being warned about the perils of chasing Pikachu and other digital critters in the game.

The Israel Cancer Association has advised players not to go outdoors to catch Pokemoncreatures in the middle of the day to avoid excessive sun exposure, and other tips to protect oneself from the sun’s rays.

“In the game itself, some of the Pokemon snatchers are always with a baseball hat on,” the association said on its website. “In the real world too, make sure you wear a hat before going outdoors.”

The AIG insurance company in Israel is taking advantage of the Pokemon craze to market its personal accident insurance policy that covers accidents caused while playing such mobile phone games. Yifat Reiter of AIG said the company has received dozens of inquiries about the accident insurance for Pokemon players.

Israel’s emergency rescue service Magen David Adom said distracted Pokemon players have suffered moderate injuries.

  • Daimler invests in chauffeur service start-up Blacklane

German automaker Daimler is investing more than $10 million in chauffeur service start-up Blacklane.

Daimler said it was investing an “eight-digit” sum in the service that operates in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Blacklane allows users to book self-employed chauffeurs for a fixed price. The service primarily targets business travelers, whereas rivals such as Uber have focused on a broader customer base.

Daimler said in a statement Monday that the market for professional ride services is estimated to be worth about $30 billion a year at present.

The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars has invested heavily in transportation services in recent years, including the cab-hailing app mytaxi and car-sharing company Car2Go.

  • Judge tosses patent verdict against Apple, orders new trials

A federal judge has tossed out a jury’s decision calling for Apple to pay $625.6 million in damages to a Nevada company that claims Apple infringed on its patents for technology used in Apple services like FaceTime and iMessage.

The judge decided Apple didn’t receive a fair trial in a Texas courtroom earlier this year because jurors heard arguments stemming from two separate lawsuits, creating potential for confusion because some of the claims had also been argued in an earliertrial.

The claims were brought by VirnetX, a company that buys technology patents and aims to make money from licensing fees and lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder ruled Friday that the two lawsuits should get separate retrials this fall. Apple declined comment. VirnetX did not immediately respond Monday.