Sometimes you hear people claim that NASA spent millions of taxpayers money to develop a pen that would write in space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts used a pencil. It sounds plausible, but it’s an urban legend:
Originally, NASA astronauts, like the Soviet cosmonauts, used pencils, according to NASA historians. In fact, NASA ordered 34 mechanical pencils from Houston’s Tycam Engineering Manufacturing, Inc., in 1965. They paid $4,382.50 or $128.89 per pencil. When these prices became public, there was an outcry and NASA scrambled to find something cheaper for the astronauts to use….
Paul C. Fisher and his company, the Fisher Pen Company, reportedly invested $1 million to create what is now commonly known as the space pen. None of this investment money came from NASA’s coffers–the agency only became involved after the pen was dreamed into existence. In 1965 Fisher patented a pen that could write upside-down, in frigid or roasting conditions (down to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit or up to 400 degrees F), and even underwater or in other liquids. If too hot, though, the ink turned green instead of its normal blue….
According to an Associated Press report from February 1968, NASA ordered 400 of Fisher’s antigravity ballpoint pens for the Apollo program. A year later, the Soviet Union ordered 100 pens and 1,000 ink cartridges to use on their Soyuz space missions, said the United Press International. The AP later noted that both NASA and the Soviet space agency received the same 40 percent discount for buying their pens in bulk. They both paid $2.39 per pen instead of $3.98.
Way to go, private enterprise!
“…I REALLY like that pen….”
- Jerry Seinfeld
Here’s a physicist who is getting closer to explaining “God” through physics. He pisses alot of scientists off so I thought it might be topical to this site.
http://www.amitgoswami.org/
First thing I see: “Quantum Activism is the idea of changing ourselves and our societies in accordance with the principles of quantum physics.”
Ohhhhh, this doesn’t bode well.
oh dear…
Am I actually going to click this link?!
“To address these problems, we now have a science of spirituality that is fully verifiable and objective.”
…
Maybe it’s a relation of John C’s who got a physics degree…
*zinger *ouch…but kinda funny too, ha. All the best…
It’s really very surreal. I find myself ok with the application of quantum physics to mysticism, but not the other way around. I don’t mind if he uses physics to inform his spiritual beliefs. I do think, though, that when he begins creating a spiritualist framework within which to interpret physics, it can’t properly be called science. That just isn’t the game science plays. It can be interesting to play it, but science limits itself very explicitly to a certain set of tasks and methodologies, and he’s pretty much left that in the dust.
So… and mildly interesting, if far-fetched, attempt to apply quantum physics to mysticism, and then to reverse engineer that understanding into a new scientific system. I’m cool with the first part, but he won’t ever get the second part off the ground if he calls it science, because by definition it isn’t.
‘and’ = ‘a’
:P
Oh, so it’s evil when a government agency spends millions to achieve something, but good when a private enterprise millions to do the exact same thing?
(Not really trying to make a statement about government versus private sector, but I felt I had to make a silly quip after the weird way “Way to go, private enterprise!” just come out of nowhere.)
It’s not bad if they can recoup the money from the research — which Fisher has done. Also, never said it was evil if the gov spends millions.
Which is why it’s a silly quip to a weird sentence that came out of nowhere, not a serious comment on the good and evils of government versus corporations. :p
seems like it should be “good on NASA for getting a 40% discount on bulk pens, saving the taxpayer money”. kinda the whole point in forming agencies to represent us en masse isn’t it?
Good on them too! Applause all around.
I refuse to accept your general positive attitude and instead feel obligated to interpret this post as implying the private sector is superior to the government, your comments to the contrary notwithstanding.
Ooh, look, Daniel Florien is a libertarian!
See how much fun this can be?
Oh, oh, Fisher sold essential space technology to the Soviets: they’re communist collaborators!
And the Soviets bought stuff: they were the bastion of corruption that sacrifice principles like the communists they were!
And, oh, gasp, NASA bought pens from commie sympathizers: is there no end to the reach of the red menace?!?
Ahem. Got carried away with the ridiculous negativity. I think I’ll shut up now. :D
Pencils in microgravity can be a hazard. If the tip breaks off, you get a small piece of graphite floating around the cabin, just waiting to get inhaled, or to sail into someone’s eye, or to float into some electronics (graphic is electrically conductive, so it can cause a short circuit). So there was a good reason to want a space pen.
Well you don’t want pencils because you get micro graphite particles that start to clog up air scrubbers. I’d want my life supports system running as best they can if I was in space.
I’m more confused as to how the Soviets justified importing the product of private enterprise. Or perhaps the principles of Communism were a little more lax by that point.
I had one of those pens, it was great until I ran out of cartridges.
Rats! I always liked that story.
I’m just confused as to why the pencils cost so much!
They weren’t ordinary graphite mechanical pencils. They were custom-made fine-tip grease pencils. As noted in previous posts, graphite tips break off and present hazards in zero-gravity,
NASA, a government agency develops the whole space program. The planified russian economy develop its own space program. An entrepreneur develops a pen.
Conclusion: Way to go, private enterprise!
Apparently, religious fundamentalism is not the only silly fundamentalism in the world.