Not true. assuming "They" is the feds / nasa, they haven't lost any data / methods (what you're calling "science"). We basically shot them as fast as possible.

Tiny modern electronics are more succeptible to the ionizing radiation of those VARBs. We continue studying those belts b/c we don't know everything about them.

And before you say the varbs aren't real--the tech you use in your baofeng is based on yhe same theories and models of space.