BARREL 2K Ephemeris: Balloon Geographic and Magnetic Coordinates

BARREL was a NASA Living with a Star mission studying electron losses from Earth's radiation belts. Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016, collecting GPS-derived geographic and IRBEM-derived magnetic coordinates every 4 seconds. The data provides spatial and temporal measurements of relativistic electron precipitation.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial variations of electron precipitation based on balloon latitude and longitude data
• Study temporal patterns of magnetic field variations based on the 4-second sampling rate
• Correlate balloon observations with in-situ satellite measurements based on the mission's coordination with Van Allen Probes
• Characterize the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation based on the balloon constellation design

Strengths

• Coordinates are derived from onboard GPS and the IRBEM library, providing two validated coordinate systems
• Data was collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns spanning 2013 to 2016
• Balloons were launched from specific Antarctic and Swedish bases, providing known geographic origins

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

Data collected from onboard GPS and magnetometers on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:52:02.869254; freshness should be verified

Geography

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