Vanamonde: It does not protect the space beneath it from the raw exposure of the sun? I mean *under* the belts, not in them. I do realize that radiation at the ISS is above that of sea level but I thought it was less than, say, geo-synchonous orbit, for example. I could have swore I read that polar orbits are more hazardous as well, do to the fact the Van Allen belts don't go that far north. When I have time, I need to hunt down the references...

dcl: What is dangerous about the Van Allen belt is the fact that it consists of high-speed charged partles racing back and forth at high speed between the earth's north and south magnetic poles. Those particles were originally emitted from the sun and subsequently captured by the earth's magnetic field, As long as one stays out of the paths of those protons, a space traveler is in no danger from them.

Vanamonde: I WAS WRONG

dcl: It takes courage to admit one is wrong about something.