BARREL 1D Ephemeris: Balloon GPS and Magnetic Coordinates at 4-Second Intervals

Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, providing geographic and magnetic coordinate data every 4 seconds. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star investigation, measured electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts using X-ray spectrometers and magnetometers at altitudes near 30 km. Data was collected from Antarctic bases in 2013-2014 and from Kiruna, Sweden in 2015-2016.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetic field mapping to the radiation belts based on derived magnetic coordinates.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal patterns of electron precipitation based on balloon array data across magnetic local time.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation events.
• Studying ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using the onboard DC magnetometer data.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four separate campaigns.
• Coordinates are recorded at a high temporal resolution of once every 4 seconds.
• Geographic coordinates are sourced from onboard GPS, and magnetic coordinates are derived using the established IRBEM library.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to the specific balloon campaigns.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Coordinates obtained from onboard GPS units on stratospheric balloons, with magnetic coordinates derived using the IRBEM FORTRAN library.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in January-February 2013, 2014, August 2015, and August 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:19:16.806975; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctic launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base; later campaigns from Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden.