BARREL 3A: Balloon Housekeeping Voltage, Temperature, Current, and Status

BARREL 3A data provides housekeeping voltage, temperature, current, and payload status values returned every 40 seconds. The BARREL Mission was a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity, using multiple balloons to study electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts. Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across campaigns in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016), collecting observations near the Antarctic and Arctic circles.

Use Cases

• Monitoring payload health and environmental conditions based on voltage, temperature, and current readings.
• Studying temporal variations in electron precipitation events based on payload status and X-ray spectrometer context.
• Correlating balloon observations with in-situ measurements from the Van Allen Probes mission.
• Analyzing spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on the balloon constellation array.

Strengths

• Data is collected at a regular cadence of 40 seconds, providing a consistent time-series.
• Campaigns spanned multiple years (2013-2016) and locations (Antarctica and Sweden), offering temporal and geographic coverage.
• Over 50 balloon payloads were launched, suggesting a substantial observational campaign.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description notes analog sensor data are based on a nominal layout, and some payloads may have small differences not reflected.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected from balloon-borne instruments, including X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:37:44.725119; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Observations collected near latitudes close to the Antarctic and Arctic circles, with launches from Halley Bay (Antarctica), SANAE IV (Antarctica), and Esrange Space Center (Kiruna, Sweden).