Space Highlights - June 1, 2017

June 1, 2017

An Ariane 5 booster successfully placed two communications satellites - the ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat 172B - into orbit.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/06/ariane-5-dual-payload-launch-csg/
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=50968


Stratolaunch Systems rolled out its satellite launch platform for the first time: a giant airplane that's intended to heft satellite launch rockets to high altitude for release.  Stratolaunch has been largely funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
http://breakingdefense.com/2017/05/microsoft-co-founder-rolls-out-satellite-launch-plane-ors-plus/


Cassini has made its closest pass yet with Saturn's innermost ring.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/30/cassini-survives-closest-brush-with-saturns-inner-ring/


Data collected from Cassini suggests that Saturn's moon Enceladus may have tipped over in the distant pass - with terrain that's now in its polar region once having been located near the moon's equator.
https://phys.org/news/2017-05-cassini-saturn-moon-enceladus.html


The first two research papers connected with NASA's Juno spacecraft have been released, revealing some of the first results from the deep, multilayered picture that Juno's instruments are providing to map Jupiter's atmosphere.
http://earthsky.org/space/juno-at-jupiter-1st-science-results


Passing close to Jupiter's cloud tops, the Juno spacecraft has captured the first views of Jupiter's small, faint rings ever captured from inside the ring's orbit.
http://www.space.com/37006-first-photo-jupiter-rings-inside-juno.html


NASA's Curiosity rover has revealed that the ancient lake that once existed at Gale crater on Mars was divided into two distinct layers - both of which had the necessary conditions to support microbial life, if any had existed.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2133376-mars-rover-sees-signs-of-microbe-friendly-layers-in-ancient-lake/


A deep pit identified on the surface of Mars appears to be surrounded by a "Swiss cheese" terrain that continues to puzzle researchers.  The area was identified by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4563740/What-s-PIT-Mars-Orbiter-spots-Swiss-cheese.html


LIGO, an instrument designed to detect gravity waves, has identified its third black hole merger.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/ligo-detects-third-black-hole-merger-0106201723/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/black-holes-gravitational-waves-space-genius-science/