A machine that records data digitally without the use of moving parts. Installed on spacecraft to replace tape data storage, solid-state recorders provide increased flexibility by allowing multi-tasking: they can record two data streams at the same time, allowing both the science and engineering data streams to be captured on a single recorder.

On the Hubble Space Telescope the solid-state recorder is about the same size and shape as the reel-to-reel recorder, but can hold 12 gigabits of data, compared to only 1.2 gigabits on the tape. NASA first tested the solid-state recorder during a ten-day space shuttle mission (STS-95) in October 1998. Solid-state recorders have since been used in all spacecraft.