Recorder-marker from the SS Valiant
A log buoy or recorder-marker is a recording device carried by starships. In the event of imminent destruction or capture, a recorder-marker is designed to relay all the vessel's data back to its command base. The recorder-marker is built to withstand the complete destruction of a starship, with a minimal possibility of external forces causing damage to the data held within. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
The SS Valiant carried a recorder-marker on its mission in 2065. When the vessel was destroyed crossing the galactic barrier, the recorder-marker was ejected, and remained adrift for 200 years, when it was picked up by the USS Enterprise. Despite the damage done to it by the long exposure to space, most of the data was still retrievable. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
Federation starships also carried recorder-markers. During the encounter with the Fesarius, Captain Kirk ordered the Enterprise's recorder-marker launched. Balok destroyed it almost as soon as it was launched. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver")
Data recorder
A data recorder was a device carried by starships similar to a log buoy or a recorder-marker. In the event of imminent destruction, a data recorder was designed to record all the vessel's data. The recorder was built to withstand the complete destruction of a starship.
In 2154, a data recorder was retrieved from the wreckage of the Andorian warship Kumari by the NX class starship Enterprise. (ENT: "Babel One")