BARREL SSPC: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns

BARREL SSPC Level 2 data provides 256 channels of slow time resolution (32 s) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra from the BARREL mission. The mission, a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity, launched over 50 stratospheric balloons from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016 to study electron precipitation from Earth's Radiation Belts. The data was collected by X-ray spectrometers on balloons at altitudes near 30 km.

Use Cases

• Studying electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts based on Bremsstrahlung X-ray measurements.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on balloon array observations.
• Analyzing temporal variations of electron precipitation based on 32-second time resolution spectra.
• Correlating precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave and particle measurements from other missions.

Strengths

• Data covers a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV across 256 spectral channels.
• Over 50 balloon flights were conducted across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016.
• Observations were coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground and space-based instruments.

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

Measured by X-ray spectrometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:34:41.824512; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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