Write Once Read Forever (WORF) is a data storage method which allows users to write data once and allows storage of the users data without ever being refreshed. This differs from common digital storage techniques such as drives that need to be re-written often to prevent loss or corruption of data. WORF was tested on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

in 2019.

Method

WORF uses a novel high-density patented data storage mechanism based on

silver halide A silver halide (or silver salt) is one of the chemical compounds that can form between the element silver (Ag) and one of the halogens. In particular, bromine (Br), chlorine (Cl), iodine (I) and fluorine (F) may each combine with silver to prod ...

, which after substantial testing has been determined to last for more than a century under conventional ambient environmental conditions. WORF digital data is stored as microscopic, metallic, interference-created standing waves (representing narrowband ‟colors” ) embedded in a modern, super-resolution, dye-free, photosensitive emulsion. Wavelengths encode multiple superimposed states allowing complex data permutations to be stored per data region. Permutations enable extremely high data density to be stored on WORF media. Multi-state data architecture within each domain also enhances data integrity, error-checking, and accelerates parallel writing and reading for the entire media module. Once data is written to WORF, energy is needed only for reading—no periodic refresh is necessary, and data is both immutable and truly permanent. Human readable text and images are embedded in the WORF module adjacent to the digital data. This text and imagery contain meta- information about the media's content, and instructions for decoding for future generations.

NASA Experiment

WORF payload was delivered and docked to the

(ISS) via

SpaceX CRS-17 SpaceX CRS-17, also known as SpX-17, was a Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS) to the International Space Station that was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 4 May 2019. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. Laun ...

on May 9, 2019.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's ISS test will determine if WORF media can survive a hostile space environment during long-term space missions, such as Lunar, Mars missions, and beyond. The WORF media payload will stay on the ISS for up to one year. Due to a previous NASA mission already named WORF, NASA renamed the experiment HELIOS (Hardened Extremely Long Life Information Optical Storage). The HELIOS mission returned to Earth and was deemed a success with the stored data showing no significant decay after six months of space conditions and solar radiation. WORF technology for the HELIOS experiment uses a proven archival media, redesigned, re-purposed and patented by CTech to store digital data for long periods, measured in decades and possibly centuries.

References

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External links

WORF @ Creative Technology
Data storage Computer data storage Solid-state computer storage Computer storage devices Science experiments International Space Station experiments Space science experiments Space exposure experiments