NASA sending Radiation Belt Storm Probes to study the Van Allen Belt
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The two RBSP leaving Earth (Image: JHU/APL)
The RBSP mission will study the Van Allen Belts (Image: JHU/APL)
The Van Allen Belts are the result of the interaction of the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field (Image: JHU/APL)
Details of the RBSP probes (Image: JHU/APL)
The RBSP are shielded against radiation (Image: JHU/APL)
The RBSP probes separating after launch (Image: JHU/APL)
RBSP probe with booms and instrument arrays extended (Image: JHU/APL)
Article Summary
Radiation is a common hazard of space exploration and space agencies usually tend to avoid it for obvious reasons. It can be dangerous for astronauts and fatal to the microcircuitry of satellites. Why, then, is NASA sending its next unmanned mission right into the worst radiation hazard in the neighborhood? On August 23, two Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) will launch atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida to study the radioactive Van Allen Belts.
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