BARREL 4A Data Processing Unit (HKPG) Analog Housekeeping Voltage, Temperature, Current, a

BARREL 4A data provides housekeeping voltage, temperature, current, and payload status values recorded every 40 seconds from stratospheric balloons. The BARREL Mission was a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity designed to study electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts, launching over 50 balloons across campaigns from 2013 to 2016. Observations were collected from Antarctic and Arctic stations at stratospheric altitudes near 30 km to measure relativistic electron precipitation.

Use Cases

• Monitoring instrument health and environmental conditions based on housekeeping voltage and temperature data.
• Analyzing temporal variations in payload status and current to correlate with space weather events.
• Studying the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation by combining this housekeeping data with X-ray spectrometer measurements.
• Correlating balloon-based housekeeping measurements with in-situ plasma wave data from the Van Allen Probes.

Strengths

• Data collected at a consistent 40-second sampling interval.
• Over 50 balloon launches were conducted across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016.
• Mission was a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity, coordinated with the Van Allen Probes.

Limitations

• The description notes analog sensor data is based on a nominal layout; some payloads may have small differences not reflected.
• 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

Measurements from X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried by small stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:59:59.649928; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV in Antarctica (2013-2014) and Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden (2015-2016).