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

The BARREL mission collected data from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, launched from Antarctica and Sweden. NASA's mission measured 48 channels of Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra with 4-second time resolution to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The data was designed to coordinate with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in electron precipitation based on 4-second resolution X-ray spectra.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on multi-balloon array measurements.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying the relationship between magnetic field variations and electron precipitation using the described DC magnetometer data.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four separate campaigns, providing multiple observational periods.
• Spectra cover a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV across 48 channels.
• Campaigns were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other instruments for multi-point analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2013 to 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:51:56.921442; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica, and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden.