BARREL MSPC: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns

BARREL MSPC Level 2 data provides 48-channel medium time resolution (4 s) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra from balloon-borne NaI scintillators. The dataset was collected by NASA's BARREL mission during four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, launched from Antarctica and Sweden. It was designed to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts in coordination with the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Analyze relativistic electron precipitation events based on 48-channel X-ray spectra.
• Study spatial and temporal variations in electron losses from the radiation belts based on balloon constellation data.
• Correlate precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave and particle measurements from the Van Allen Probes.
• Characterize the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on multi-balloon observations.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• Spectra cover a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV.
• Campaigns were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in BIN, PDF, TEXT, HTML formats, requiring specific tools for processing.

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 January-February 2013, 2014, and August 2015, 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:15:03.209586; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay (Antarctica), SANAE IV base (Antarctica), and Esrange Space Center (Kiruna, Sweden).