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The Space Pen, which term generally refers to those marketed by Fisher Space Pen Co., is a particular type of pen. It uses pressurised ink cartridges to allow for features in addition to those offered by a standard ballpoint pen.==Detailed information==
Special abilities Cultural appearances There exists a common rumor claiming that because a standard ballpoint pen would not work in zero gravity (which is false •), NASA spent millions of dollars developing the zero-g capable Space Pen, with the humorous note that the Russian space agency opted to simply use pencils. This has been debunked several times, with reasons such as the danger that a broken-off pencil tip poses in zero gravity and the high flammability of both the graphite and wood present in pencils (especially in a pure oxygen atmosphere). In fact NASA never approached Paul Fisher to develop a pen, nor did Fisher receive any government funding for the pen's development. Fisher himself invented it, and then asked NASA to try it. After the introduction of the AG7 Space Pen, both the American and Soviet (later Russian) space agencies adopted it. (Previously the Russians used grease pencils and plastic slates.) A bullet-style Space Pen is on permanent display at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). The Space Pen was featured on an episode of the American television show Seinfeld. The Discworld story The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett describes a spaceflight undergone with Renaissance technology. Amongst the items Leonard of Quirm invents for the flight is a quill pen with a pressurised ink reservoir "to write Upside Down during sojourns in the Void". In reference to the above urban legend, a note on the diagram says "Or invent better pencil". In Diane Duane's young adult fantasy novel So You Want to be a Wizard, the main character, Nita Callahan, owns a space pen that becomes not only the catalyst for the central conflict, but also the tool for solving the conflict. | ||||||||
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