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TOPEX/Poseidon: Perspectives on an Ocean Planet

- Tape Recorders

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record

Within the Command and Data Handling Module are three identical NASA Standard Tape Recorders, each capable of holding about eight hours of satellite data. Three times each day the data are transferred from the recorders, through the high-gain antenna, to the TDRSS for relay to JPL. As a backup, the data can be transmitted from the recorders to the Deep Space Network on the ground.