Seen as frivolous, NASA were forced to backtrack and reconsider the writing instruments that would be given to Astronauts.įurthermore, the humble pencil was found to be wanting. in Houston Texas were purchased at a cost of $4,382.50 but for 34 units - meaning that each cost $128.89! You would think they had ordered the Graf von Faber-Castell Classic Mechanical Pencil in Macassar Wood ! At the time, this expense was controversial. The mechanical pencils from Tycam Engineering Manufacturing Inc. In 1965, NASA ordered mechanical pencils for Project Gemini. ĭuring missions, Astronauts and Cosmonauts of the world (and out of this world) used pencils on their space missions. In addition, the AG7 Space Pen utilised the thixotropic ink invented by Fisher to be especially viscous, allowing for the pen to be used in a number of environments…but more on that later. This little wonder utilised nitrogen in the top of the cartridge which then expands, forcing the ink to flow. The AG7 Space Pen landed on Earth in 1966 which featured the patented sealed and pressurised Fisher Space Pen ink cartridge. Not only did Fisher want to improve the quality of the pens he designed and created, but he also wanted to revolutionise the world of pen design by creating a new cartridge that wouldn’t dry up or leak. It wasn’t long before he opened his own pen company…with the idea for a non-leaking, work-horse pen that would be a fantastic day-to-day tool with exceptional qualities…by all accounts, his concept was not initially concerned with getting a pen into the cosmos. After the war ended, Fisher began working in a pen factory and soon established himself as an innovator, creative and inventor. Fisher worked in an aeroplane propeller factory (during World War II) with ball bearings but it wasn’t his true calling. Prior to his career in Stationery (and later a less remarkable foray into politics!) Paul C. His mission - much like many inventors and creatives in the pen industry - was to create the best pen he could that would be incredibly high quality, offensively attractive, and entirely practical for everyday use in that it would not dry up or leak.Ībove: Paul C. But Stationers could carry the universal refill alongside some of their more popular brand cartridges and cover all of their bases! Fisher had a mission. This invention intended to make the lives of stationers so much easier as they would not need to stock all of the cartridges for all of the different brands.
Fisher created the Fisher Pen Company and very soon made waves in pen manufacturing with the invention of the universal refill cartridge. Fisher Pen Company Before Fisher Space Pensįounded in 1948, Paul C. The story only really exists now as a allegory to remind us that often the best solution is often the simplest solution because the story itself appears to be wholly untrue! With The International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12th (the anniversary of the first human space flight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin) and National Space Day on May 5th just around the corner, we are celebrating the incredible achievements of mankind's adventures into the cosmos and taking a look at the origins and history of the Fisher Space Pen. The often cited urban myth is that NASA invested millions of dollars in research and development to create a state-of-the-art writing tool to withstand the harsh conditions of space exploration whilst the rival Soviets saved money by using alternative technology - a pencil! This also poses its own problems but we will come back to that shortly.
Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons NASA scientists identified a seemingly small issue that would turn out to be surprisingly significant - pens could not write in space! It was the swinging 60’s and the space race was just starting to gather pace (extra points for the rhyming there!).
Regardless of the embellishments, the creativity and inventiveness of Paul C.
There is a little bit of myth and legend surrounding the initial relationship between the Fisher Space Pen and NASA and there is some contradictory information floating around the ether that is the world wide web. It is safe to say that The Fisher Space Pen has a cultural as well as an historical significance.
#Space pen unfolder tv
Perhaps even more excitingly, it also featured in an episode of the equally iconic tv show ‘Seinfeld’ in an episode entitled (aptly) ‘THE Pen’. The term iconic is not used lightly here! The Fisher Space Pen is fully recognised as a feat of American design and is featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The most famous pen relating to Space exploration is the Fisher Space Pen! This iconic masterpiece of writing instrument design and engineering was first introduced in 1948.
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