BARREL 1T: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns, 32 s Resolution

NASA's BARREL mission launched over 50 stratospheric balloons to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. The SSPC instrument provides 256-channel Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra with 32-second resolution, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV. Campaigns were conducted from Antarctica in 2013-2014 and from Sweden in 2015-2016, coordinating with the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Modeling radiation belt electron losses based on balloon-measured X-ray spectra.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on multi-balloon array data.
• Correlating balloon-based precipitation measurements with in-situ plasma wave and particle data from the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying magnetospheric ULF-timescale variations using the co-located DC magnetometer data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data is from a NASA Living with a Star mission, providing authoritative measurements.
• Over 50 balloon flights were conducted across four campaigns, offering multiple observational opportunities.
• The 256-channel spectrometer covers a defined nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV.

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, and HTML formats, which may require specialized 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 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:46:27.402164; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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