During the heat of the space race in the
1960’s, the U.S.
National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
decided it needed a ballpoint pen
to
write in the zero gravity
confines of its space capsules. After
considerable research and
development, the Astronaut Pen was developed
at
a cost of about $1
million U.S. The pen worked and also enjoyed some
modest success as a
novelty item back here on Earth. The Soviet Union,
faced with the
same problem, used a pencil.
