BARREL 1A: Balloon Housekeeping Voltage, Temperature, Current, and Status, 40 s Data

Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric balloon data from the BARREL mission, measuring housekeeping voltage, temperature, current, and payload status every 40 seconds. The mission launched over 50 small balloons across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. Data was collected by NASA to augment the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in payload health based on housekeeping voltage and current measurements.
• Correlating balloon status with X-ray spectrometer and magnetometer readings for event detection.
• Studying the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation using data from a constellation of balloons.
• Modeling stratospheric environmental conditions based on temperature sensor data.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• Provides 40-second resolution time-series for key housekeeping parameters.
• Mission was coordinated with the Van Allen Probes and other ground/space instruments.

Limitations

• Analog sensor data is based on a nominal layout; some payload differences may not be reflected.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried by stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:24:38.207657; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica, and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden.