Inside the Astrotech facility technicians prepare to deploy the three solar panels on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes.

Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to deploy the remaining three solar panels on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A. Deploying these arrays is standard procedure to ensure they work properly on Earth before they head into space. NASA’s RBSP mission will help us understand the sun’s influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earth’s radiation belts on various scales of space and time. As the spacecraft orbits Earth, four panels will continuously face the sun to provide constant power to its instruments.

RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rbsp. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser