NSSDC: Preserving time with technological advances

The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) has always striven to use the best methods and media currently available from data accessibility and archive management. The various advantages and disadvantages of four different media forms that have been used by NSSDC over 12 years of archiving and distributing of International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) data are discussed. The four media are nine track magnetic tape, IBM 3850 mass storage, Memorex 3480 18 track tape catridge, and the Sony 6.5 Gbyte Century optical disk. The CD-ROM medium is also discussed.