BARREL SSPC: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Stratospheric Balloons

Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric balloons collected 256-channel X-ray spectra to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, launched over 50 balloons across campaigns from 2013 to 2016. Data provides slow time resolution (32 s) measurements of bremsstrahlung X-rays in a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV.

Use Cases

• Characterizing spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon array measurements.
• Correlating precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying ULF-timescale magnetic field variations using the co-located DC magnetometer data.
• Analyzing temporal evolution of bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra across the 256 energy channels.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• 256-channel spectral resolution covering a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV.
• Coordinated measurements with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space instruments.

Limitations

• 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

Measured by X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:18:33.477104; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Antarctica (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Sweden (Esrange Space Center).