The Fisher Space Pen brand has become an iconic symbol of American technology and design. It has also become part of American pop culture. Enjoyed and used by millions around the world, it is also the subject of hundreds of fan videos and has been featured on several TV programs including an episode of the hit series “Seinfeld” entitled "The Pen." All Fisher Space Pen products contain the patented pressurized ink refill which allows it to write upside down, under water, in extreme temperatures from -30 to +250 degrees F (-35 to +121 Celsius), over almost any surface and three times longer than the average pen.
History of the Fisher Space Pen
When manned space missions began, astronauts had a problem finding writing instruments that would function properly and safely in space. The ink in regular ball-point pens wouldn’t flow in zero gravity. Instead, Astronauts used pencils but the lead often broke and became a hazard floating in the capsule’s atmosphere. Paul C. Fisher, who was then president of the Fisher Pen Company and had been manufacturing ballpoint pens since 1948, started thinking about how ordinary ballpoint pens would have trouble writing in space, but if a pen could be sealed and pressurized, it would keep the solvents from evaporating in the gravity-free vacuum of space.
After spending over $1 million dollars of his own money and years of research, Fisher finally developed his patented pressurized ink cartridge that keeps solvents from evaporating and allows ink to flow in zero gravity. Fisher sent samples of his prototype to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston Space Center. The prototypes were thoroughly tested by NASA and passed all tests. NASA astronauts began using the Fisher AG-7 Anti-Gravity Space Pen aboard the Apollo 7 Mission and Fisher Space Pen has been used on all manned space flights since, including NASA’s Space Shuttle Program missions, the Mir Space Station and the International Space Station as well as the Russian and Chinese space programs.
