Space Pens: How to Write in Space

You must have wondered as how astronauts write in space. Sometimes the spacecraft pass the zero gravity field so while writing the pen slips from hand. There is also a myth that space agency spend millions to invent a pen that can write in zero gravity.

Space pen is a real thing. A special pen is designed to write in space. The Fisher Space Pen made its debut in television in October 1968 as Apollo 7 mission commander demonstrated weightlessness by blowing on a pen to control its movement. The pens are on display is space museums and in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  In 2021 technology was recognized as an innovation developed for space. It now lies in Organization’s Hall of Fame with eighty other technologies.

NASA chooses pen as an alternative to pencil as pencil can easily break off and float away. It can create hazard to astronauts and space electronics. Also there were many attempts to create space pens. “The original ball points were terrible,” said Cary Fisher. They tended to leak, slip and dry up. To solve the problem his father who had already intended made a sealed cartridge with pressurized nitrogen at the top pushing a tiny piston against the ink. But the pen leaked due to pressure. But the advantage with pressurized ink cartridge was it did not require gravity. So he added resin to the ink and made it “ thixotropic.” He called the result AG7 and sent several to NASA.

The pen were tasted at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The pen worked in all positions in extreme heat and cold and in extreme heat and cold. The ink could draw a solid line more than three miles long. Once it had flown in space Paul named the name Space Pen.  The pen are known for their reliability and they also symbolized American ingenuity an inventor and small business. They solved the pen problem. Paul and his son continued to design new models.

The pen have been used on every crewed NASA mission since Apollo 7. The Space pen now comprise about 80 models. They are now a popular gift items and are in demand among members of military and law enforcement as well as to people who appreciate their ability in any conditions.

Fisher Pen Company has distributors in 52 counties and they still make pens in Boulder City where more then 60 employees turn over a million pens a year. Like other technologies NASA has transformed Space Pen to commercial products and services. If someday space travel and tourism is real you can use it to write diaries.