BARREL 2P: Balloon Ephemeris with Geographic and Magnetic Coordinates

Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, collecting 4-second interval data on balloon position and magnetic field. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star project, measured electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts using X-ray spectrometers and magnetometers. Observations were conducted from Antarctic and Swedish launch sites at stratospheric altitudes near 30 km.

Use Cases

• Modeling relativistic electron precipitation from radiation belts based on X-ray spectrometer measurements.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal variations in electron loss based on multi-balloon array data.
• Correlating balloon-based magnetic field measurements with satellite and ground-based instrument data.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies using balloon constellation data.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns, providing multiple observational periods.
• Coordinates derived from onboard GPS and the IRBEM library, suggesting a multi-source validation approach.
• Campaigns were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground/space instruments, suggesting potential for data fusion.

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 statistical modeling.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data returned from balloon payloads every 4 seconds, with geographic coordinates from GPS and magnetic coordinates derived using the IRBEM FORTRAN library.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:00:37.254782; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launch sites in Antarctica (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Kiruna, Sweden; observations near Antarctic and Arctic circles.