| The Space Pen. The very name would make Galileo's | | | | ink, a semisolid ink that only became liquefied due to |
| heart skip a beat. Legend has it that NASA scientists | | | | the rolling ball's shearing action. He then pressurised |
| spent millions of taxpayer dollars in designing a writing | | | | the ink refill with nitrogen so that the promotional pen |
| instrument for use in space. Yet, contrary to popular | | | | would work without relying on gravity. Fisher |
| belief, the invention of zero gravity promotional pens | | | | presented his anti-gravity pen to NASA and, |
| had nothing to do with NASA. So, what makes these | | | | beginning with the Apollo 7 mission, astronauts have |
| printed pens so unique? | | | | used Fisher's invention ever since. |
| In the midst of the Cold War, U.S. president John F. | | | | Like the original, today's promotional space pen is |
| Kennedy announced a dramatic goal to land a man on | | | | made of the highest quality materials. The rolling ball is |
| the moon before the decade was out. The "Space | | | | crafted from tungsten carbide and is precisely fixed |
| Race" was on. Every detail of such an unprecedented | | | | to avoid leakage. The space pen reportedly writes |
| mission had to be perfect, and this included the | | | | three times longer than the average promotional |
| astronauts' ability to take notes. Pencils, both | | | | ballpoint and can function upside down, underwater, |
| mechanical and wooden, had been used in the | | | | and in extreme temperatures (from -35 to 120 |
| Mercury and Gemini missions, but printed pencils | | | | Celsius). These features make the space pen the |
| created a few problems. For one, the lead in | | | | logical choice for both astronauts in space and |
| mechanical pencils could easily break, which posed a | | | | climbers on an Everest expedition. |
| danger in the zero gravity of space. The flammable | | | | Zero gravity promotional pens aren't just suited for |
| nature of wooden promotional pencils also presented | | | | the extremes; they're a great choice for the |
| risks. NASA needed a better solution. | | | | everyday situations in which we find ourselves. |
| Meanwhile, a man named Paul Fisher had been | | | | Choose a printed space pen for the plumber or |
| working on a special ink cartridge that would enable | | | | electrician who must often work on their backs in |
| ink to flow only when the user wanted. All other | | | | cramped areas. Or give a space pen as a personalised |
| promotional pens rely on gravity to generate ink | | | | gift to the engineer or would-be inventor in your life. |
| flow, so traditional ballpoints are inoperative in space. | | | | With such a unique and versatile instrument, the |
| Fisher's experimentation led to the use of thixotropic | | | | possibilities for use are truly limitless. |