Dapres, the archiving challenge

The development of a data preservation system (Dapres) for use by ESA and employing helical scan recorders conforming to the MIL-STD 2179 standard is discussed. Dapres is primarily intended to capture and archive data from future ESA earth observation satellites and manned or man-tended platforms. A mission summary for future ESA activities believed to have an impact on the requirements of Dapres is presented and potential and actual users, including the Columbus Free Flying Laboratory, the Columbus Polar Platform, and the Hermes Spaceplane are cited. Main operation and performance requirements from ESA relevant to the data recorder include long-term operational use, high data rate and capacity, off-the-shelf hardware, and readily available media. It is suggested that the most promising digital recorder format which addresses such requirements is the 19 mm format. Both the 19 mm format and MIL-STD 2179 are defined and their relationships to Dapres architechture are detailed.