BARREL 1M: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns, 2013-2016

Four campaigns from 2013 to 2016 collected over 50 stratospheric balloon flights measuring relativistic electron precipitation. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, carried X-ray spectrometers to detect bremsstrahlung X-rays in four energy channels from 0 to 1.5 MeV with 50-millisecond time resolution. Observations were made from Antarctic and Swedish launch sites at altitudes near 30 km to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 50-millisecond resolution X-ray spectra.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of relativistic energy precipitation based on multi-balloon array measurements.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray data with in-situ plasma wave and particle measurements from the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying magnetospheric processes based on coordinated observations with ground-based radar systems like EISCAT.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns spanning 2013 to 2016.
• Provides four-channel X-ray spectra with fast 50-millisecond time resolution.
• Coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:07:37.397817; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctic (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Swedish (Esrange Space Center, Kiruna) launch sites.