A digital tape recorder was used on the Mariner Mars 1971 spacecraft to record television and scientific data. Data were recorded at 132 kilobits/sec and were reproduced at one of five available rates (16.2, 8.1, 4.05, 2.05, or 1.0125 kilobits/sec) selected by ground command to be congruous with the spacecraft-to-earth communications link performance. The transport mechanism contained 167 m of 1.2 cm magnetic recording tape. A single motor was used to drive the peripheral drive transport. During development of the design, stick slip problems were encountered. A design life of 2400 tape passes was achieved during the mission.
Mariner Mars 1971 data storage subsystem
1972-09-15
Report
No indication
English
Mariner MARS 1971 Data Storage Subsystem
NTIS | 1972
|Mariner- MARS Science Subsystem
NTIS | 1966
|The Mariner-Mars science subsystem
NTRS | 1966
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