BARREL 4B: Balloon Ephemeris and Magnetic Coordinates for Radiation Belt Studies

Over 50 stratospheric balloons were launched across four campaigns from 2013 to 2016, collecting 4-second interval data on geographic and magnetic coordinates. The BARREL mission, a NASA Living with a Star investigation, measured electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts using X-ray spectrometers and magnetometers. Observations were conducted from Antarctic and Arctic sites at altitudes near 30 km to coordinate with the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetic field line mapping based on derived magnetic coordinates.
• Analyzing temporal patterns of electron precipitation based on 4-second epoch time data.
• Studying spatial scales of radiation belt events using balloon array latitude and longitude.
• Correlating stratospheric balloon measurements with in-situ satellite data from the Van Allen Probes.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four dedicated campaigns.
• Coordinates derived from onboard GPS and the IRBEM library for magnetic calculations.
• Observations coordinated with the Van Allen Probes mission and other ground-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in BIN, PDF, TEXT, and HTML formats, which may require specialized parsing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:56:36.258719; 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).