TECH TALK

FISHER SPACE PENS

THE MILLION DOLLAR SPACE PEN

With celebrations around the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing hitting our screens recently we’ve been feeling a special affinity here at Tight Lines as the New Zealand distributors of Fisher Space Pens. Fisher Space Pens are handcrafted and able to write underwater, over grease, at any angle, upside down, in zero gravity, and in extreme temperatures ranging from -35°C to 120°C, so it’s little wonder that they’ve accompanied both American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts on every manned mission since 1967 as their writing tool of choice. >

But you don’t have to get stratospheric to appreciate this famous little pen’s technological advantages that have stood the test of time and cemented its spot as an outstanding piece of industrial art. In fact, you’ll not only find the Fisher Space Pen has been a topic in many art books and magazine articles over the years, but also has been a permanent feature of the New York Museum of Modern Art for years.

So what makes Fisher Space Pens so unique?

The secret behind the unique capabilities of Fisher Space Pens lies in the ink cartridge itself. Their refills are hermetically sealed (airtight), pressurised with nitrogen gas, and feature a tungsten carbide ballpoint tip - the same extra hard metal that is used to make armour-piercing ammunition. This means Fisher Space Pens don’t rely on gravity to write, and are able to function at any angle, even upside down!

In order to prevent leaks from the gas pressure, Fisher Space Pens ink must be thick, or thixotropic to be exact. Fisher ink is more of a gel than a liquid when it is at rest, with a consistency like that of toothpaste. It is only when pressure is applied to the ballpoint that the ink will take on the spreadable properties of a liquid, while still retaining the stickiness needed to adhere to nearly any material. All of these unique capabilities combine to create the ultimate pen for tackling whatever the great Kiwi outdoors throws your way!

Ultra-hard tungsten carbide ball

Sliding float separates ink from pressurised nitrogen gas Stainless steel, precisionmachined socket prevents leaks and oozing, yet delivers instant uniform ink flow Thixotropic ink in a hermetically sealed and pressurised reservoir writes three times longer Gas plug