Back in the days of the space race, Gemini, Apollo etc, and the endless media coverage of the differences between American and Russian projects and developments, one of the (apparently) light-hearted tales arose from the need to write things down and make notes.
While it would probably be considered a trivial thing today, with everything being recorded/logged digitally, plus the ease with which still and video images can be recorded, back in the days of early space flight, things were not so well understood, and many mistakes were made, sometimes even leading to fatalities.
When you have not lived and worked in something like the zero gravity vacuum of space, it may be possible to predict many potential issues, but, with the best will in the world, it will still be possible to miss things which are almost impossible to find together in the normal world, and quite harmless, but which can come together to in a new or hostile environment, and become potentially fatal. This is noted in the reference to Apollo 1 below, where three astronauts died in a sudden and rapid fire, without a similarly rapid exit being available.
I have to confess to always wanting a Fisher Space Pen, but not having an easy way to get one in Scotland back then. I didn’t really like the pen design either, as the size and proportions didn’t look all that nice (ergonomic), and even back then, I was fussy about my pens and pencils.
Some years later I did manage to scratch that particular itch, not by buying a space pen, but a refill.
Can’t remember where that was now, but it would have to have been Glasgow as I was, I think, still at school.
The refills are handy for anyone that needs a ballpoint that will write just about anywhere with no need for the usual gravity assist a ballpoint needs – the cylinder is pressurised, so works in any position.
I’ve never/barely used mine – it was too expensive!
I kept it for occasions when I actually needed it, and those were few and far between.
They’re still available today, and just as expensive – about £7 each from Amazon when I made a quick check.
No need to put up with that original space pen body either.
The refills fit any Parker ballpoint pen – even the classic gold cap original I have from the early 1960s.
But let’s not forget the real point of my post – and the stupidity that can spread unchecked online, as the Russians were mocked for their pencils.
Supposedly cheap and safe compared to the decadent American’s solution, yet they were anything but, and could be deadly.
Space Pen and Pencil Reality
I used to think the Russian story was funny, and even mentioned it myself sometimes.
But, then it turned from being a bit of fun, and the Interwebs effectively turned it into a ‘fact’, and the original was all but forgotten.
Secret Scotland 