About Fisher
Fisher Space Pen was built on a single invention: a pressurized ballpoint that writes without relying on gravity. Founder Paul C. Fisher patented the AG7 "anti-gravity" pen in 1965 after independently funding development of a thixotropic ink formula, and NASA adopted it for Apollo 7 in 1968 after 18 months of testing. Fisher pens have flown on every crewed NASA mission since, and remained in active use aboard the International Space Station as recently as 2021.
The company has manufactured its pens in Boulder City, Nevada since 1976, running a 30,000-square-foot facility that still assembles the pressurized nitrogen cartridges by hand. The core engineering hasn't changed: a tungsten-carbide ballpoint and a cartridge pressurized to roughly 45 psi let the pen write upside down, underwater, over grease, and across a −30°F to 250°F range, with an estimated 100-year shelf life for an unused refill. That's the same mechanism inside the bullet-style pen we tested, made in the USA with a brass-and-chrome body.
Brand website: spacepen.com
What Fisher makes
Fisher's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Bullet pens
compact brass-and-chrome pressurized pens, cap-and-post design — featured on DeskRated
Original Astronaut pens
the model NASA flew starting with Apollo 7
Cap-O-Matic pens
single-hand click extend/retract, workhorse field pen
Trekker pens
rugged outdoor-oriented pressurized pens
Stowaway pens
compact, pocketable pressurized pens
PR4 pressurized refills
replacement cartridges for the pressurized ink system
Why we recognized Fisher
The DeskRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Fisher earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, used at a real desk, and judged on merit.
Fisher products we rated highly
Fisher Space Pen Matte Black Bullet Pen, Pressurized Refill, Cap-and-Post Design
The only ballpoint we tested engineered to write in conditions that disable every other pen we reviewed: upside down, in zero gravity, on wet paper, and across a −30°F to 250°F range. The brass-and-chrome bullet body is made in the USA and built to last decades, with a cap-and-post design that extends to full writing length when posted and collapses to about 3.75 inches capped for pocket carry.
Read the 7 Best Ballpoint Pens of 2026 guide →What earned Fisher the recognition
- A pressurized-ink mechanism no ordinary ballpoint can match: writes upside down, underwater, over grease, and from −30°F to 250°F.
- NASA-proven since 1968: Fisher pens flew on Apollo 7 and every crewed NASA mission since, and were still in use aboard the ISS as of 2021.
- Made in the USA at the company's own facility in Boulder City, Nevada, in continuous operation there since 1976.
- Built for decades of use, not months: a documented refill shelf life of roughly 100 years when unused.
- A standout in our ballpoint pen testing, chosen for durability and extreme-condition performance a disposable pen can't offer.