FISHER SPACE PEN HONOURS THE HEROES OF NASA’S FATEFUL APOLLO 13 SPACE MISSION WITH A NEW 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION

BOULDER CITY, NV. (March, 2020).  Fisher Space Pen Co., makers of the iconic Astronaut pen flying aboard every manned space mission, introduces a new collection commemorating NASA’s fateful Apollo 13 Mission, famously recreated in the 1995 space film Apollo 13. Apollo 13 was the seventh mission in the Apollo Program. It was to be the third mission to land on the Moon. It launched on April 11, 1970 but two days into the mission, an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded, crippling the voyage and making a lunar landing impossible. Instead, the spacecraft would circle around the Moon and try to return to Earth. The Service Module was rendered inoperative by the lack of oxygen. The Command Module’s systems were shut down to conserve resources for reentry. The crew took refuge in the Lunar Module and used it as a lifeboat. Mission control was now tasked with bringing the crew safely back to Earth. With the help of the crew, mission control improvised a solution and tens of millions watched on television, riveted as Apollo 13 finally splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with its crew safe and alive.

Joshua Skidmore, Fisher Space Pen National Sales & Marketing Manager said: ”We’re proud to honor NASA’s Apollo 13 Mission with this collection that reminds us of the grit and ingenuity of the men and women in America’s space program. Fisher Space Pens were made for space travel and our products continue to fly aboard every manned space mission, the International Space Station as well as space programs around the world.”

The new Fisher Space Pen Apollo 13 Collection includes:

Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary Special Edition AG7, diamond-engraved with Apollo XIII Special Edition as well as the names of the Astronauts and dates of the mission. (#AG7 13-50).

Chrome-Plated Bullet Space Pen with Clip, laser engraved with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary, in Black Medium Ink. Gift Boxed. (#400CL-13-50).

Chrome-Plated Bullet Space Pen, laser engraved with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary, in Black Medium Ink. Gift Boxed. (#400-13-50).

Cap-O-Matic Space Pen with Assorted Color Plastic Barrel and Gold-colored Cap, Hot Stamped with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary, with Black Medium Ink. Gift Boxed. (775G-13-50).

Cap-O-Matic Space Pen with Assorted Color Plastic Barrel and Chrome Colored Cap, Hot Stamped with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary in black medium ink, Gift Boxed.. (#775-13-50).

Cap-O-Matic Space Pen with Assorted Color Plastic Barrel and Chrome Colored Cap, Hot Stamped with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary in black medium ink, Blister Carded. (#S251-13-50). Available by request.

Cap-O-Matic Space Pen with Assorted Color Plastic Barrel and Gold-colored Cap, Hot Stamped with Apollo 13 50^th Anniversary, with Black Medium Ink. Blister Carded. (S251G-13-50). Available by request.

Fisher Space Pen Co. is a family-owned company proudly manufacturing Made in America products. The company was invited to the 2019 White House Made in America Showcase and was featured in FOX Business’ Mornings with Maria. Last year, it celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of the maiden flight of its iconic AG7 Original Astronaut Space Pen aboard NASA’s Apollo 7 Mission on October 11, 1968. The company was featured on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir’s “Made in America” series.

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” titled “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.