BARREL XSPC: 30-Channel Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra from Balloon Campaigns

30 channels of fast time resolution (50 ms) Bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra collected by the BARREL mission's balloon-borne X-ray spectrometers. The data were gathered during multiple campaigns from Antarctica (2013-2014) and Sweden (2015-2016) to study relativistic electron precipitation from Earth's radiation belts. The dataset is provided by NASA and includes raw channel count data with associated energy bin information.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in electron precipitation based on the 50 ms time resolution X-ray spectra.
• Characterizing the spatial scale of relativistic electron precipitation events based on multi-balloon constellation data.
• Correlating balloon-based X-ray measurements with in-situ satellite data from missions like the Van Allen Probes.
• Studying the energy spectrum of precipitating electrons based on the 30-channel Bremsstrahlung X-ray data.

Strengths

• Provides 30-channel spectral data with a fast 50-millisecond time resolution.
• Data from over 50 stratospheric balloon flights across four campaigns (2013-2016).
• Designed to provide coordinated measurements with comprehensive in-situ satellite and ground-based instruments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Measurement altitude is not filtered in this product and must be checked in a separate EPHM file.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by X-ray spectrometers (XSPC) carried on stratospheric balloons during the BARREL mission.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:14:24.910360; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Balloon launches from Halley Bay and SANAE IV base in Antarctica, and the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden.