Abracadaver2000 t1_j6jrygz wrote on January 30, 2023 at 8:50 PM

Reply to comment by -Raskyl in What kind of items can I buy for my class that would be used on a Shuttle / ISS? by glastonbury13

That's been well and truly debunked a long time ago. The reason NASA didn't use pencils is because graphite particles and electrical gear are not a good mix (#1), and the company that developed the pen did it at their own expense. NASA didn't foot the bill for R&D.

-Raskyl t1_j6ki8zt wrote on January 30, 2023 at 11:39 PM

Ok, that's also not true. Pencils will work just fine in space. Pencil graphite is mixed with clay and a bunch of other shit. Doesn't burn until like 1,000°c. And they aren't just making mass amounts of graphite dust by taking notes on shit.

And fine, nasa didn't spend the money, but millions were spent. And pencils do work just fine. They've literally been used by nasa and soyuz since the beginning of man's time in space.

Abracadaver2000 t1_j6kl3ed wrote on January 30, 2023 at 11:59 PM

Got my info about why NASA doesn't use pencils from here. Not sure when/if it actually changed. https://spinoff.nasa.gov/space-pens