The 1960s were highly influential for space exploration in general. During the 1950s and the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union competed to see which country could make it to space first or accomplish other achievements in space exploration. The race was known as the Space Race, and both countries were doing their best to be the first to accomplish great new strides in space travel. One notable invention from that era was the Fisher space pen, developed to write in zero gravity. The Soviet Union made it to space first in 1961. The spacecraft held Yuri Gagarin, and he orbited the Earth once in a spaceship that traveled 17,025 miles per hour.  

Creating the Fisher Space pen

Later in that decade, in 1969, Neil Armstrong would be the first astronaut to walk on the moon, and other astronautic feats were accomplished. One problem the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found was the inability to write properly in space. The problem was that in space, due to the fact there is zero gravity, everything floats around, including ink. Though inconvenient, it may not seem that a pen should be the focal point of the expenditure of millions of taxpayers’ dollars. However, it may have been. 

The path to invent a pen for space may or may not be accurate. Some sources swear this story is fact, while others say it is fiction. Let’s go through the story, and you can decide whether it is factual or simply a fun story. The Fisher space pen does exist. The way it was developed is where the lines are blurred between fact and fiction. 

Out of This World

Because ink does not stay on paper in space, astronauts always used pencils to write anything down on a space mission. At one point, NASA paid over $ 4,000 for mechanical pencils, which would be approximately $42,000 in today’s currency. The fact that this money was spent on pencils was made public, and many people did not agree with this type of spending. 

The information on how much NASA spent on pencils was made public after the Gemini Titan 3 mission. This particular mission already had some attention because one of the astronauts was told to smuggle a sandwich on board, which was not approved food for the spacecraft. 

From there, an investigation was launched on writing implements and NASA’s spending. It was then that the mission to find a better, cheaper solution began. The process of developing that Fisher space pen was not cheap, though. After all, the pen had to have ink to write, but the ink and the pen itself had to be able to defy gravity.

Pencils seem like the perfect solution to the ink problem since they do not require gravity to flow in order to operate. The Soviet Union was already sending its astronauts to space with pencils. But pencils were not an ideal choice either. Not only did they break off, and the pieces of lead would float around the cabin, but they were also technically flammable. NASA wanted to avoid allowing any item that may be flammable on a spacecraft. 

All on the Taxpaxer’s Dime

It has always been thought that NASA spent millions of dollars attempting to make a pen that worked in space. However, in reality, a man named Paul Fisher and his company, the Fisher Pen Company, invested money in developing the Fisher space pen. 

The project cost 1 million back then, which is over 10 million today. However, Fisher paid for it, not the government. In addition to Fisher, Friedrich Schachter and Erwin Rath also helped develop the pen. Fisher perfected the actual ink that goes into the pen. NASA did not become involved in the process of the space pen until it was already designed. After experimenting and learning from trial and error, the space pen was patented in 1965. Paul Fisher had developed a pen like no other. 

What was so unique about this Fisher space pen? It could withstand extreme heat and cold, write upside down, and work in water. NASA began to use these pens in space starting in 1967. In 1973, NASA wrote a six-page manual on the approved writing implements for space. In the manual, the characteristics of the appropriate pen are outlined, and Fisher’s pen is described.

More About the Man

Paul Fisher was in his fifties when he was tasked with creating a pen that could write in space. He was known as the “Henry Ford of pen development.” Why was Fisher’s space pen chosen explicitly for this task? His invention was selected because he conducted numerous tests on his ink and pen before submitting it to NASA. They approved of his invention and bought 400 of them from the get-go. 

The pens were purchased at $6 per pen, around $60 today, making the Fisher space pen more effective and cheaper than the mechanical pencils NASA purchased before. Fisher was a successful inventor and businessman. He was also a politician in the Democratic party and ran alongside John F. Kennedy. He was much more successful in business and inventing than politics, yet he had solid ideas for improving the United States economy.

Incredible Ink

The whole point of creating the space pen was to develop a unique writing utensil that could work with or without the Earth’s gravitational pull. The Fisher space pen or the Zero Gravity Pen is impressive as it does not work like a traditional pen. Most pens rely on the pull of gravity to function and write. The whole point of the space pen was to be able to work without having to rely on gravity to operate since, in space, there isn’t any. 

The Fisher space pen is pressurized with nitrogen. The ink is thixotropic, which means it does not flow easily. This type of ink was ideal for the space pen since it required pressure to force ink down to the tip of the pen. The ink is also highly secured to avoid leaking. The space pen allows the user to write at any angle without dependence on gravity.

Additionally, the Fisher space pen/ink allegedly lasts three times longer than the average pen and has a shelf life of a century. By 1968, NASA and the Soviet Union equipped their astronauts with these pens. However, the United States used the space pen first.

Fisher’s space pen was so successful that he created an entire line of space pens, including a shuttle pen. NASA and the Soviet Union received discounts for the pens and used them often. Interestingly, both countries received the same discounted price; one country was not favored over the other.

Today, civilians may purchase a Fisher space pen; they cost about $78. The company still exists today and has a wide variety of other pens besides the space pen. The original space pens made in the 1960s are still highly sought after. In 2008, a pen used in Apollo 17 sold for more than $23,0000.

Editor’s Note:

It is also worth noting that many of our favorite tactical pens, such as our personal favorite from Blackside Customs, include the Fisher space cartridge among their other high-end functions.