21 Apr
2005
21 Apr
'05
7:07 p.m.
Randy McLaughlin <cctalk at randy482.com>
wrote:
I don't remember all the details but I read that while NASA always tried to
solve problems with $ and technology.
The Russians used something better: thought. The biggest problems were
heat and pressure. Solid state devices shut down when heated. The
spacecraft was open on the flight to Venus and sealed up before landing.
This kept the insides under vacuum which slowed down heat transference.
Smart, very smart.
Reminds me of joke I was told when I visited my relatives in Canada:
"One of the first big problems of manned space flight was that ball-point pens
would not work reliably in zero gravity.
NASA started a huge research project and after more than a year the 'space pen'
was developed.
This was a ball point pen that could write upside down and in zero gravity.
(BTW: These pens were sold to the public and widely advertised when I was a kid)
The russian cosmonauts, on the other hand, simply used a pencil :-)
11:30 p.m.
William Donzelli wrote:
Russian spacecraft don't use a pure oxygen low pressure life support
system like NASA. They use nitrogen-oxygen blend at normal atmospheric
pressure.
--
www.blackcube.org The Texas State Home for Wayward and Orphaned Computers
The russian
cosmonauts, on the other hand, simply used a pencil :-)
Micropowder carbon in a zero G high oxygen electrical environment is a
REALLY BAD idea.
William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org
10:05 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Kapteyn, Rob
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 6:08 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: RE: tube technology and EMP
"One of the first big problems of manned space
flight was that
ball-point pens
would not work reliably in zero gravity.
NASA started a huge research project and after more than a year
the 'space pen'
was developed.
This was a ball point pen that could write upside down and in
zero gravity.
(BTW: These pens were sold to the public and widely advertised
when I was a kid)
The russian cosmonauts, on the other hand, simply used a pencil :-)
Except pencils are a really bad idea in space. They tend to release
particles that can be breathed in or clog the air circulation/filtration
systems, etc.
Kurt Weber
kmw at armory.com
22 Apr
22 Apr
4:33 a.m.
On Thu, Apr 21, 2005 at 06:07:47PM -0500, Kapteyn, Rob wrote:
Nice story, but at the bit about how " NASA started a huge research
project" is wrong. The "Fisher Space Pen" was not developed by NASA, but
by a company making pens (Fisher) and they not only developed it on their
own dime, but also sold them to NASA at a few dollars per pen.
And for using pencils in space: Having loose bits of nicely conductive
graphite dust floating around the interiour of your space vehicle is a
seriously bad idea since this is just asking for random shorts in your
onboard electronics.
Regards,
Alex.
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison
Randy
McLaughlin <cctalk at randy482.com> wrote:
I don't remember all the details but I read that while NASA always tried to
solve problems with $ and technology.
The Russians used something better: thought. The biggest problems were
heat and pressure. Solid state devices shut down when heated. The
spacecraft was open on the flight to Venus and sealed up before landing.
This kept the insides under vacuum which slowed down heat transference.
Smart, very smart.
Reminds me of joke I was told when I visited my relatives in Canada:
"One of the first big problems of manned space flight was that ball-point pens
would not work reliably in zero gravity.
NASA started a huge research project and after more than a year the 'space pen'
was developed.
This was a ball point pen that could write upside down and in zero gravity.
(BTW: These pens were sold to the public and widely advertised when I was a kid)
The russian cosmonauts, on the other hand, simply used a pencil :-) 
5:21 a.m.
And for using pencils in space: Having loose bits of
nicely
conductive graphite dust floating around the interiour of your space
vehicle is a seriously bad idea since this is just asking for random
shorts in your onboard electronics.
Perhaps. But in the absence of other functional writing instruments,
what choice is there? Does it cost more to develop (or, as you point
out, buy after someone else develops) bad zero-gee pens or to put good
filters in the air circulation system?
Or use pencils made of pure wood together with sheets of carbon paper?
...what *did* the cosmonauti use? Is the pencil story an urban legend,
or is there historical basis for it? (I've seen it elsewhere, but
never with any sources cited.)
/~\ The ASCII der Mouse
\ / Ribbon Campaign
X Against HTML mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca
/ \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
7:16 a.m.
On Fri, 2005-04-22 at 05:21 -0400, der Mouse wrote:
...what *did* the cosmonauti use? Is the pencil story
an urban legend,
or is there historical basis for it? (I've seen it elsewhere, but
never with any sources cited.)
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp
7104
days inactive
7105
days old
6 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
als＠thangorodrim.de -
aw288＠osfn.org -
jrice54＠vzavenue.net -
julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk -
kapteynr＠cboe.com -
kmw＠armory.com -
mouse＠Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA