BARREL: Balloon Measurements of Electron Precipitation from Radiation Belts

BARREL balloon mission data consists of rate counter measurements from NaI scintillator diagnostics, stored as 4-second accumulations. The mission was a NASA Living with a Star investigation, with over 50 stratospheric balloons launched from Antarctica and Sweden between 2013 and 2016. It provided measurements of relativistic electron precipitation to augment the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Analyze electron loss rates from radiation belts based on rate counter diagnostic fields
• Characterize spatial scales of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon constellation data
• Correlate precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave measurements based on mission coordination
• Study temporal variations of electron precipitation based on 4-second accumulation data

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon launches across four campaigns
• Measurements coordinated with comprehensive in-situ data from the Van Allen Probes mission
• Campaigns conducted from both Antarctic and Arctic regions, providing broad spatial coverage

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Rate count data have uncalibrated energy ranges and wrap near or above 16384 counts/s
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from rate counters on stratospheric balloons carrying X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:33:39.621724; freshness should be verified

Geography

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