BARREL: Balloon Housekeeping Data for Radiation Belt Studies

Over 50 stratospheric balloons launched between 2013 and 2016 collected housekeeping voltage, temperature, current, and payload status every 40 seconds. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star investigation, provided the first balloon measurements of relativistic electron precipitation coordinated with in-situ satellite data. 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

• Monitoring instrument health and environmental conditions based on housekeeping voltage and temperature data.
• Studying temporal variations in relativistic electron precipitation based on coordinated balloon and satellite measurements.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation events based on data from a constellation of balloons.
• Correlating magnetic field variations with particle precipitation based on DC magnetometer and X-ray spectrometer payloads.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016.
• Measurements taken at stratospheric altitudes (~30 km) near the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
• Time-series data recorded at a 40-second sampling interval.

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 and file 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 by small stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:00:49.424026; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launch sites in Antarctica (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Sweden (Esrange Space Center, Kiruna).