Space writing pen is an important accessory of spacewalk. The United States and the former Soviet Union organized many researchers and invested huge sums of money in research and development. According to the task requirement of developing space writing pen issued by China Astronaut Research and Training Center on June 5438+ 10, 2006, the researchers of China First Pencil Co., Ltd. have successfully developed "China Space Pen" for Shenzhou VII spacecraft after nearly two years' efforts. Chinese astronauts will write a magical stroke in their spacewalk to record this historical moment. At present, this new technology has applied for a national patent.
According to the environmental requirements of space writing, the scientific and technological characteristics of "China Shenzhou 7 Space Pen" are as follows:
1. The pole of the space pen adopts the best basswood material in China, and its manufacturing technology also adopts the highest standard in the pencil industry. According to ergonomics, the anti-skid function is designed at the handle of the pen to ensure that the weight of the product is less than 40 grams and the hardness of the pen meets the requirements of space use, which is convenient for astronauts to hold the pen freely and write easily when wearing spacesuits and inflatable gloves.
2. Generally speaking, the concentration of the refill is inversely proportional to the strength of the refill, that is, the higher the concentration of the refill, the lower the strength of the refill. In order to make it convenient for astronauts to watch and write with masks, so that the contrast between the handwriting and the background of the space pen can achieve the best effect when writing, and the pencil lead will not break under the specified strength, the pencil lead concentration of the space pen must reach the high B level, the stress on the core tip should reach the h B index, and the space pen should continue to write without cutting. If conventional production methods are adopted, it is impossible to meet the requirements of space use. After a large number of comparative experiments, the research team led the bold innovation, and adopted brand-new refill formula, core-making technology and core-burning method to ensure the design quality requirements of the space center. After many tests, the predetermined effect has been achieved. The pencil has been sampled and tested by the quality inspection department, and all the technical indexes of the refill have reached the predetermined requirements. At present, this new technology has applied for a national patent.
3. According to the characteristics of the space environment, the space pen must also withstand the tests of various environments such as high temperature, low temperature, impact and vibration. After development and special processing technology, "China Shenqi Space Pen" has reached the ability of high temperature resistance and ultra-low temperature resistance. After 24-hour high temperature and 24-hour low temperature tests, the nib and wooden pole of the product are not broken and cracked. At the same time, after the impact and vibration tests of Shanghai Aerospace Environment Test Center, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other relevant departments, after careful inspection of each experimental space pen, the nib was not found to be broken or damaged, which fully met the requirements of aerospace engineering. This is the most stringent and demanding test for writing pens in China at present.