BARREL: Balloon Housekeeping Voltage, Temperature, Current, and Status Data

Over 50 stratospheric balloons launched during four campaigns from 2013 to 2016 collected housekeeping data every 40 seconds. The BARREL Mission, a NASA Living with a Star Mission of Opportunity, measured electron precipitation from Earth's Radiation Belts using X-ray spectrometers and magnetometers. Observations were made from Antarctic and Arctic launch sites at altitudes around 30 km.

Use Cases

• Analyzing payload health and operational status based on voltage and current readings
• Studying environmental conditions during balloon flights based on temperature data
• Correlating balloon housekeeping data with electron precipitation events measured by X-ray spectrometers
• Investigating magnetic field variations using data from the DC magnetometer mentioned in the description

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 balloon flights across four campaigns
• Housekeeping values returned at a regular 40-second cadence
• Mission coordinated with the Van Allen Probes and other ground/space instruments

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• The description notes analog sensor data are nominal and some payloads had small differences not reflected
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by instrumentation on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Geography

Launches from Halley Bay, Antarctica; SANAE IV base, Antarctica; and Esrange Space Center, Kiruna, Sweden.