core memory

Reliability

Core memory is non-volatile storage—it can retain its contents indefinitely without power. It is also relatively unaffected by EMP and radiation. These were important advantages for some applications like first-generation industrial programmable controllers, military installations and vehicles like fighter aircraft, as well as spacecraft, and led to core being used for a number of years after the availability of semiconductor MOS memory (see also MOSFET). For example, the Space ShuttleIBM AP-101B flight computers used core memory, which preserved the contents of memory despite Challenger's disintegration shortly after launch in 1986.