Most spacecraft try to avoid the Van Allen Belts, two doughnut-shaped regions around Earth filled with "killer electrons." This morning NASA launched two heavily-shielded spacecraft directly into the belts. The Radiation Belt Storm Probes are on a two-year mission to study the Van Allen Belts and to unravel the mystery of their dangerous unpredictability.
FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/30aug_rbsp/
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5KKHzWafDg
