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posted 04-15-2006 09:16 PM               

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I'm writing an article about the myth of the "million dollar space pen." I have several NASA documents on this and a space pencil used on Gemini missions.

What I'm looking for are examples of this myth in print. Can anybody point me to written (not online) examples of somebody claiming that NASA wasted a lot of money developing the space pen?

Posts: 145
From: Edinboro, PA USA
Registered: Nov 2004

Posts: 532
From:
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 05-15-2006 10:46 AM               

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I ran my article on The Space Review.

You can download a few documents off that site. These consist of various NASA letters concerning the Space Pen and an earlier controversy involving a pencil manufactured for the Gemini spacecraft. There is a lousy photo of the pencil at the end of one of the pdf documents.

After I wrote this and did all that research somebody casually mentioned to me that the JSC newsletter had done a short article on this subject. I found that, which was only a paragraph or two, but also included a link to a longer article about it on the NASA history website. This annoyed me, because I thought that I was the first person to connect the pencil controversy to the pen myth. But somebody beat me to it.

Not that I care all that much about this subject, mind you. I only wrote it because I had the documents in hand.

Posts: 145
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posted 05-15-2006 12:59 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Dubbs:
My own research suggests that there's more than a little truth to the stereotyping between the US and Soviet/Russian approach to things. Doubtless this has helped to keep alive the pen myth.

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There is more than a little truth to it, and you are right that this may keep the myth alive.

Several years ago somebody told me a story about a dispute between NASA and the Russians concerning the batteries on the ISS. These were small batteries for some piece of equipment. The Russians had decided to use French-made batteries that were clearly designated with some kind of warning such as "Not approved for use in enclosed spaces." That warning was specifically to prevent their use in submarines. They posed some kind of fire danger or something. He said that this had resulted in a big spat. He admitted that NASA had a tendency to over-specify things, but he also said that there were a number of cases where the Russians were overly casual about how they approached safety issues. They tended to take approaches that could easily lead toward dangerous flight conditions.

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From: Staten Island, NY
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posted 03-25-2008 01:31 PM               

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In the show "The Untold Story," Buzz Aldrin tells of how a circuit breaker snapped off inside Eagle. He says he used a felt tipped marker, (with no metal in the point) to depress the circuit breaker back on.

Paul Fisher is very proud of the fact that the mission was saved using one of his ball point pens. The story is told in a small note that is packed with each pen.

So my question is this: was it a ball point pen or a felt marker that reset the circuit breaker?

Posts: 583
From: Louisville CO US
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-25-2008 06:41 PM               

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Fisher did not make a felt tipped marker. There was a metal barreled marker in use at the time made by a common commercial brand.

So, the story is apparently an urban legend that worked to the advantage of Fisher.

The bit about the Gemini Pencil at $128 is really surprising given it was the Skilcraft marked "US Government". All they did was take off the eraser and put a strip of black velcro on the metal eraser area on the barrel. Flip the metal holder over to prevent the lead from slipping out. Then you have a Gemini Pencil.
I have a few in my collection, given the erasers had dry rotted and were useless anyway they made perfect replica Gemini era pencils.

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From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007

posted 03-28-2008 03:05 PM               

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Once again, Thanks!

I find the story of $128 pencils used on Gemini a little hard to digest. I had issued to me back in the 1970's along with my kneeboard some plain black mechanical pencils - no markings on them. They were the same type attached to John Glenn's kneeboard that's in the Air and Space Museum. They also gave me a flight jacket with the name tag "CIVILIAN". Now that I think about it maybe I should end this post right here.