Final preparations have begun for NASA's launch on Thursday, August 23, 2012 of two Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) designed to study the harsh environment of our planet's Van Allen Radiation Belts. Named after its discoverer, James Van Allen of the Univerist of Iowa following the Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 satellite missions in 1958, the radiation belts can be hazardous to both spacecraft and astronauts. The mission will last two years. The spacecraft, carrying the best and most comprehensive instrumentation ever sent into the radiation belts, will fly through surging and swelling belts of energized particles that would damage ordinary spacecraft.