NASA to Hold News Conference on Upcoming Radiation Belt Storm Probes Launch

Aug. 7, 2012

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

Geoffrey Brown
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.
240-228-5618
geoffrey.brown@jhuapl.edu

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-146

NASA TO HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE ON UPCOMING RADIATION BELT STORM PROBES LAUNCH

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT,
Thursday, Aug. 9 to discuss the upcoming launch of the Radiation Belt
Storm Probes (RBSP), a mission to study Earth's radiation belts. The
event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the
agency's website.

The two-year RBSP mission will help scientists develop an
understanding of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and related
regions that pose hazards to human and robotic explorers.

RBSP is scheduled to launch no earlier than 4:08 a.m. Thursday, Aug.
23 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The twin probes
will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

News conference panelists are:

-- Madhulika Guhathakurta, Living With a Star program scientist, NASA
Headquarters, Washington
-- Mona Kessel, RBSP program scientist, NASA Headquarters
-- Barry Mauk, RBSP project scientist, Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Md.
-- Rick Fitzgerald, RBSP project manager, APL, Laurel, Md.

Reporters can ask questions from NASA's centers, by telephone or via
Twitter using the hashtag #asknasa. For dial-in information,
reporters must send their name, media affiliation and telephone
number to j.d.harrington@nasa.gov by 1 p.m. Aug. 9.

RBSP will explore space weather -- changes in Earth's space
environment caused by the sun -- that can disable satellites, create
power grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will
allow researchers to understand fundamental radiation and particle
acceleration processes throughout the universe.

Graphics presented during the news conference will be online shortly
before the start of the event at:

http://www.nasa.gov/sunearth

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the RBSP mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/rbsp


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