[Az-Geocaching] Another Lie about Nasa..

[ShadowAce]

TEF writes:
I was told this story as a kid by my neighbor who was for the most part
correct with his stories

When NASA was given the task of what the astronauts would write with in
space, spent millions of dollars to come up with the ball point pen. While
in Russia given the same question replied was ah we'll use a pencil.

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Now we get to see why it is so funny to sit and listen to some people.
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http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp


Fisher did ultimately develop a pressurized pen for use by NASA astronauts
(now known as the famous "Fisher Space Pen"), but both American and Soviet
space missions initially used pencils, NASA did not seek out Fisher and ask
them to develop a "space pen," Fisher did not charge NASA for the cost of
developing the pen, and the Fisher pen was eventually used by both American
and Soviet astronauts.

Here's how Fisher themselves described it:

NASA never asked Paul C. Fisher to produce a pen. When the astronauts began
to fly, like the Russians, they used pencils, but the leads sometimes broke
and became a hazard by floating in the [capsule's] atmosphere where there
was no gravity. They could float into an eye or nose or cause a short in an
electrical device. In addition, both the lead and the wood of the pencil
could burn rapidly in the pure oxygen atmosphere. Paul Fisher realized the
astronauts needed a safer and more dependable writing instrument, so in July
1965 he developed the pressurized ball pen, with its ink enclosed in a
sealed, pressurized ink cartridge. Fisher sent the first samples to Dr.
Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston Space Center. The pens were all
metal except for the ink, which had a flash point above 200°C. The sample
Space Pens were thoroughly tested by NASA. They passed all the tests and
have been used ever since on all manned space flights, American and Russian.
All research and developement costs were paid by Paul Fisher. No development
costs have ever been charged to the government.

Because of the fire in Apollo 1, in which three Astronauts died, NASA
required a writing instrument that would not burn in a 100% oxygen
atmosphere. It also had to work in the extreme conditions of outer space:
In a vacuum.
With no gravity.
In hot temperatures of +150°C in sunlight and also in the cold shadows of
space where the temperatures drop to -120°C
(NASA tested the pressurized Space Pens at -50°C, but because of the
residential [sic] heat in the pen it also writes for many minutes in the
cold shadows.)

Fisher spent over one million dollars in trying to perfect the ball point
pen before he made his first successful pressurized pens in 1965. Samples
were immediately sent to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Manager of the Houston Space
Center, where they were thoroughly tested and approved for use in Space in
September 1965. In December 1967 he sold 400 Fisher Space Pens to NASA for
$2.95 each.

Lead pencils were used on all Mercury and Gemini space flights and all
Russian space flights prior to 1968. Fisher Space Pens are more dependable
than lead pencils and cannot create the hazard of a broken piece of lead
floating through the gravity-less atmosphere.
Sightings:   This legend was mentioned in an episode of NBC's The West Wing
TV series ("We Killed Yamamoto"; original air date 15 May 2002).