Data-tape


Data-tape, also spelled as datatape, or data tape, was a type of physical storage media for different kinds of data. The tape itself, a continuous narrow, flexible strip, was stored on reels inside a protective shell. Monomolecular-switching binary tapes like the ones used by the Galactic Empire on Scarif had a 512-million-exanode capacity.

History


The secret plans for the Galactic Empire's powerful planet-destroying Death Star weapon were stored on data-tapes. These tapes were stolen and later downloaded into a datacard by members of the Rebel Alliance and spirited to Princess Leia Organa, who copied the data from them into the memory banks of the droid R2-D2 in order to deliver them to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.

Behind the scenes


The plans for the Death Star were described as being recorded on data-tapes in the novelization of the original Star Wars film, released in 1976 before the release of the actual film, A New Hope, known at the time only as Star Wars. At the time, tapes were a modern means of storing information, though for data storage they later became largely obsolete.

Sources


  • Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy
  • Rey's Survival Guide
  • Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  • Star Wars: On the Front Lines
  • Star Wars Helmet Collection 56
  • Rise of the Separatists
  • Rebel Starfighters Owners' Workshop Manual
  • Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
  • Star Wars 100 Objects
  • Star Wars: Timelines

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