Solid State Data Storage for Space Systems

Most spacecraft require a memory to store data prior to the transmission of the data to an earth station. Until recently, the majority of spacecraft data storage requirements were provided by tape recorders. In 1989, however, a new era in spacecraft data storage began when SEAKR Engineering developed the first production Solid State Recorder (SSR). The on-orbit success of this and subsequent SEAKR SSRs has enabled the industry to switch from failure-prone tape recorders to more reliable SSRs. Earlier versions of these SSRs were designed as simple tape recorder replacements. Advances in architecture pioneered by SEAKR have allowed the latest spacecraft SSRs to connect to multiple hosts, simultaneously perform random read and write operations, survive multiple hard and soft memory failures, and autonomously map out defective memory. Future spacecraft instruments are being designed that will generate TeraBytes of information at Gbps data rates. The next generation SSRs must have much higher capacity and data rates based upon denser memory structures and a more flexible, multi-user architecture. This program will develop this future SSR architecture technology with emphasis on increasing the data flow rate and decreasing the physical size of the memory support circuits.