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(Redirected from Fisher Space Pen)
The 'Space Pen', marketed by Fisher Space Pen Co., is a pen that uses pressurised ink cartridges to allow for features beyond those offered by a standard ballpoint pen. The Fisher Space Pen was invented by American industrialist and pen manufacturer Paul C. Fisher and is manufactured in Boulder City, Nevada, USA. Pens claiming some or all of the same abilities have also appeared on the market from other manufacturers. There are two prominent styles of the pen: the AG7 "Astronaut pen", a long thin version shaped like a common ballpoint, and the "Bullet pen" which is considerably smaller.
The Space Pen is claimed to write in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, over wet paper, through a pat of butter, at any angle, and in extreme temperature ranges. Several of the Fisher Space Pen models (the "Millennium" is one) are claimed to write for a lifetime of 'average' use, however the product literature states that the pen will write approximately 30 miles (approximately 48 kilometers).
The ballpoint is made from tungsten carbide and is precisely fitted in order to avoid leaks. A sliding float separates the ink from the pressurized gas. The thixotropic ink in the hermetically sealed and pressurised reservoir is claimed to write for three times longer than a standard ballpoint pen. The pen can write at altitudes up to 12,500 feet (3810 m). The ink is forced out by compressed nitrogen at a pressure of nearly 35 pounds per square inch (340 kPa). Operating temperatures range from -50 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 to 120 degrees Celsius). The pen has an estimated shelf life of 100 years.
There exists a common rumor claiming that because a standard ballpoint pen would not work in zero gravity, NASA spent millions of dollars developing the zero-g capable Space Pen, with the humorous note that the Russian space agency opted to simply use pencils.[1] In fact, NASA programs have used pencils (for example a 1965 order of mechanical pencils) but because of the danger that a broken-off pencil tip poses in zero gravity and the high flammability of both the graphite and wood present in pencils. a better solution was needed.
On top of all that, it turns out that a standard ballpoint pen will work in space after all.[2]
NASA never approached Paul Fisher to develop a pen, nor did Fisher receive any government funding for the pen's development. Fisher invented it independently, and then asked NASA to try it. After the introduction of the AG7 Space Pen, both the American and Soviet (later Russian) space agencies adopted it. Previously both the Russian and American astronauts used grease pencils and plastic slates.
★ A bullet-style Space Pen is on permanent display at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
★ The Space Pen was featured on an episode of the American television show ''Seinfeld''.
★ The ''Discworld'' story ''The Last Hero'' by Terry Pratchett describes a spaceflight undergone with Renaissance technology. Amongst the items Leonard of Quirm invents for the flight is a quill pen with a pressurised ink reservoir "to write Upside Down during sojourns in the Void". In reference to the above urban legend, a note on the diagram says "Or invent better pencil".
★ In Diane Duane's young adult fantasy novel ''So You Want to be a Wizard'', the main character, Nita Callahan, owns a space pen that becomes not only the catalyst for the central conflict, but also the tool for solving the conflict.
★ In an episode of the British Children's Television show, Bob the Builder Mr Bentley loses his prized Space Pen and Bob has to help him find it.
★ In the 2004 Independent film ''Primer'', the Space Pen/Pencil rumor is briefly mentioned.
1. Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil
2. Pedro Duque's diary from space
★ Fisher Space Pen Co.
★ The Billion Dollar Space Pen
★ Legend debunked (Urban Legends Reference Pages)
★ Did Biros really revolutionise writing: BBC News 2006-11-23
★ NASA Specification for writing instruments 1973-06
★ NASA's initial rejection of some of Fisher's claims about the "Space Pen" 1967-10-25
★ Considering A Fisher Space Pen? - Solid real-world review and analysis of the space pen
Space Pen
The 'Space Pen', marketed by Fisher Space Pen Co., is a pen that uses pressurised ink cartridges to allow for features beyond those offered by a standard ballpoint pen. The Fisher Space Pen was invented by American industrialist and pen manufacturer Paul C. Fisher and is manufactured in Boulder City, Nevada, USA. Pens claiming some or all of the same abilities have also appeared on the market from other manufacturers. There are two prominent styles of the pen: the AG7 "Astronaut pen", a long thin version shaped like a common ballpoint, and the "Bullet pen" which is considerably smaller.
| Contents |
| Claims and specifications |
| Uses in the U.S. and Russian space programs |
| References in popular culture |
| References |
| External links |
Claims and specifications
The Space Pen is claimed to write in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, over wet paper, through a pat of butter, at any angle, and in extreme temperature ranges. Several of the Fisher Space Pen models (the "Millennium" is one) are claimed to write for a lifetime of 'average' use, however the product literature states that the pen will write approximately 30 miles (approximately 48 kilometers).
The ballpoint is made from tungsten carbide and is precisely fitted in order to avoid leaks. A sliding float separates the ink from the pressurized gas. The thixotropic ink in the hermetically sealed and pressurised reservoir is claimed to write for three times longer than a standard ballpoint pen. The pen can write at altitudes up to 12,500 feet (3810 m). The ink is forced out by compressed nitrogen at a pressure of nearly 35 pounds per square inch (340 kPa). Operating temperatures range from -50 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 to 120 degrees Celsius). The pen has an estimated shelf life of 100 years.
Uses in the U.S. and Russian space programs
There exists a common rumor claiming that because a standard ballpoint pen would not work in zero gravity, NASA spent millions of dollars developing the zero-g capable Space Pen, with the humorous note that the Russian space agency opted to simply use pencils.[1] In fact, NASA programs have used pencils (for example a 1965 order of mechanical pencils) but because of the danger that a broken-off pencil tip poses in zero gravity and the high flammability of both the graphite and wood present in pencils. a better solution was needed.
On top of all that, it turns out that a standard ballpoint pen will work in space after all.[2]
NASA never approached Paul Fisher to develop a pen, nor did Fisher receive any government funding for the pen's development. Fisher invented it independently, and then asked NASA to try it. After the introduction of the AG7 Space Pen, both the American and Soviet (later Russian) space agencies adopted it. Previously both the Russian and American astronauts used grease pencils and plastic slates.
References in popular culture
★ A bullet-style Space Pen is on permanent display at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
★ The Space Pen was featured on an episode of the American television show ''Seinfeld''.
★ The ''Discworld'' story ''The Last Hero'' by Terry Pratchett describes a spaceflight undergone with Renaissance technology. Amongst the items Leonard of Quirm invents for the flight is a quill pen with a pressurised ink reservoir "to write Upside Down during sojourns in the Void". In reference to the above urban legend, a note on the diagram says "Or invent better pencil".
★ In Diane Duane's young adult fantasy novel ''So You Want to be a Wizard'', the main character, Nita Callahan, owns a space pen that becomes not only the catalyst for the central conflict, but also the tool for solving the conflict.
★ In an episode of the British Children's Television show, Bob the Builder Mr Bentley loses his prized Space Pen and Bob has to help him find it.
★ In the 2004 Independent film ''Primer'', the Space Pen/Pencil rumor is briefly mentioned.
References
1. Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil
2. Pedro Duque's diary from space
External links
★ Fisher Space Pen Co.
★ The Billion Dollar Space Pen
★ Legend debunked (Urban Legends Reference Pages)
★ Did Biros really revolutionise writing: BBC News 2006-11-23
★ NASA Specification for writing instruments 1973-06
★ NASA's initial rejection of some of Fisher's claims about the "Space Pen" 1967-10-25
★ Considering A Fisher Space Pen? - Solid real-world review and analysis of the space pen
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psst.. try this: add to faves
