BARREL: Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns, 32 s Resolution

NASA's BARREL mission deployed over 50 stratospheric balloons to study electron losses from Earth's Radiation Belts. The SSPC instrument provided 256-channel slow time resolution (32 s) spectra of Bremsstrahlung X-rays from precipitating electrons, covering an energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV. Campaigns were conducted from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) in coordination with the Van Allen Probes mission.

Use Cases

• Modeling electron precipitation losses from radiation belts based on X-ray spectra.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal variations of relativistic electron precipitation based on balloon constellation data.
• Correlating precipitation events with in-situ plasma wave and particle measurements from the Van Allen Probes.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of precipitation at relativistic energies based on multi-balloon observations.

Strengths

• Data collected from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns.
• 256-channel spectral resolution covering a nominal energy range from 0 MeV to 10 MeV.
• Coordinated measurements 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.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by X-ray spectrometers and DC magnetometers carried on stratospheric balloons.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:29:55.394006; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Launches from Antarctica (Halley Bay, SANAE IV) and Sweden (Esrange Space Center, Kiruna).