During the heat of the space race in the 1960s, the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) realised that astronauts would
have to be able to record certain things while performing their duties and
so it needed a writing utensil capable of writing in the zero gravity
confines of its space capsules. Of course, a normal pen will not work
since they are all gravity fed, but the design specification called for a
pen to be used.
After considerable research and development spanning over two years, the
working zero-g Astronaut Pen was developed at a cost of approximately $1
million U.S. (in 1960's dollars !!).
The initial production run was fifty pens.
The Soviet Union, faced with the same problem, issued pencils.
Anonymous
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