Except for this million dollar pen – FireWire

Abigail Brewer 2 years ago 2 min read

How could an astronaut write in zero gravity? Many followers of space research ask this question and answer and the solution to writing in orbit is the famous million dollar pen, the space pen.

He also recalls a report posted on the website of the xatakaThis strange machine was in space in October 1969 so travelers could take notes.

Is this a myth, a true story, or have we been deceived by the value of the pen? We’ll tell you then.

Did the space pen cost a million dollars?

While NASA and other space agencies spend a lot of money on solutions to seemingly small problems in space, The truth is, the Space Pen didn’t cost NASA a million dollars. It is an acknowledged, but unconfirmed, story.

On the early Apollo missions, the astronauts used pencils that cost more than $100 each. NASA apparently spent over $4,300 on it, which is a fair rate for these instruments modified so that astronomers can take them into zero gravity and the graphite won’t break.

The problem with using a pencil is that graphite is a flammable material and can easily break and separate from the paper. Using a pen would have been a better idea A businessman named Paul Fisher invested a million dollars out of his own pocket to create the Space Pen.

space pen

Fisher made a pen Also included in the pressurized nitrogen ink cartridge. Compressing the gas and pushing the ink down until it comes out does not create a vacuum, but simply reduces the pressure inside the cartridge as the ink runs outa common system today, but revolutionary at the time.

The creator’s investment was $1,000,000, he put it up for sale for just over $10 and NASA, being the American space agency, bought it in quantities, I got it for $6. This is the real story.

Interestingly, this isn’t the only working pen in space today, but since it was what astronauts were used to, both the US agency and Roscosmos in Russia stuck with the space pen.