BARREL 4F MSPC: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns

The BARREL mission conducted balloon campaigns in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 from Antarctica and Sweden. It provides medium time resolution (4-second) X-ray spectra from a NaI scintillator, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV across 48 channels. This data was collected by NASA to study electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts.

Use Cases

• Study electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts based on X-ray spectrometer measurements
• Characterize spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on balloon array observations
• Analyze temporal variations of electron precipitation based on medium time resolution spectra
• Coordinate multi-instrument studies of radiation belts based on campaigns with Van Allen Probes and ground-based instruments

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon launches across four campaigns
• Spectra cover a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 4 MeV across 48 channels
• Campaigns 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 launched from Antarctica and Sweden.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:32:34.973235; freshness should be verified

Geography

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