Cabin heat from engine

[a64pilot]

You read it?
NASA did not fund the space pen, had nothing to do with it, they bought some, as did the Russians, but didn't develop or pay for its development.
They did pay some stupid price for pencils, I don't know anything about that.
I've been around some Military procurement, more often that not insane prices are paid because some civilian wrote a ridiculous requirement into the contract, often I believe to ensure who wins, but many times a Commercial off the shelf item would have worked.
An example may be in the contract there is language that a pencil would have to have been demonstrated to write in minus 50 degree weather, surprise, only one brand has test data to support that


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You read it?
NASA did not fund the space pen, had nothing to do with it, they bought some, as did the Russians, but didn't develop or pay for its development.
They did pay some stupid price for pencils, I don't know anything about that.
I've been around some Military procurement, more often that not insane prices are paid because some civilian wrote a ridiculous requirement into the contract, often I believe to ensure who wins, but many times a Commercial off the shelf item would have worked.
An example may be in the contract there is language that a pencil would have to have been demonstrated to write in minus 50 degree weather, surprise, only one brand has test data to support that


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Pilot, I did read it and this is what I found offensive:

" In fact, NASA ordered 34 mechanical pencils from Houston's Tycam Engineering Manufacturing, Inc., in 1965. They paid $4,382.50 or $128.89 per pencil. When these prices became public, there was an outcry and NASA scrambled to find something cheaper for the astronauts to use."
This is an excellent example, on a small scale, of the unconscionable and wasteful spending by our corrupt and brain dead government officials. The internet and government records abound with examples of a more shameful and egregious nature of spending,in the millions, that is carried on the backs of the already burdened tax payer. There is nothing the government does that cannot be done cheaper and more efficiently by private enterprise . . . including the collection of taxes. Good luck and safe sailing.

[a64pilot]

I figure they got caught with the pencils, think maybe there was a kickback or a family member in there somewhere?
$4,000 is not much money compared to what NASA was spending in those days, remember we had a dead Presidents wish to live up to and money was irrelevant. To some extent the "Space Race" was a good example of what is possible if money is no object.
Saturn V was an absolutely fascinating machine, we have never equaled that in my opinion.