[Partially incorrect, see comments.] Pens in Space

The reason not to use pencils in Space wasn't that Pencil are inflamable, the main reason was the graphit dust produced by Pencils, which because of the lack of gravity, enter floating in the electronic, causing short circuits as main risk.

Besides that, NASA wasn't the one that funded the research behind the pen, they bought the completed pens. The expenses for the research were funded by Fisher

Plus, inhaling graphite dust since it doesn't fall doesn't sound fun.

NASA used crayons before those space pens, and iirc the pens were available for a while before they tried them

Also you DON'T FUCKING WANT GRAPHITE DUST FLOATING AROUND IN ZERO G

This is inaccurate. Graphite is not flammable. It forms small particles that, mixed with air, could combust in a dust explosion, just like flour.

also, fucking pencil shavings?

pencil shavings contain graphite (great for getting into shit and shorting shit out) and thin paper (think, kindling)

did the russians gnaw the fucking things sharp? no? idiots...

Apollo 1 resulted in a lot of improvements regarding fire safety.

I’ve owned a fair few Fisher Space Pens throughout the years. It’s an interesting bit of space memorabilia that’s functional and affordable. It’s an impressive bit of engineering.

As a space nerd, I love the pen. As a pen guy…. There’s better options. The cartridge just doesn’t write as smooth as I like, nor is it a really bold, saturated line. For daily actual writing use, I use a Lamy Safari rollerball or a Pilot B2P.

Think of how revolutionary crayola twistables would have been for NASA?

Empires wasting resources on nonflammable space pens while the whole planet burns.

...when your budget is infinite vs when you just want to blast someone into space

americans trying to save the political devision in 2025

I got big into pens for a bit before settling on my edc one-size-fits-most pen. During my travels, I saw that the Fisher Space pens are still highly regarded as great writers even for us grounded folk. Yeah, there's better, but for the size and build quality they're great options. I went with the Ti Arto by Big Idea Design instead. Just so I could use basically any pen cartridges (except cheap bic roller ball).

Huh, the Arto used to be 70usd. I'd say not worth anymore. I got the black one and the paint has already chipped plus the clip is not titanium unless you buy an expensive "premium" clip.

“Do me a personal favour. Take the pen!”