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The company says it took Fisher about 2 years and $2 million to develop the space pen.
Prior to 1967, there were no pens that worked in space so there were pencils used, but there were concerns about pencil dust floating around the space capsules as well as fears that if the tip of a pencil broke off and drifted into the electronics, there would be problems.
The full story has been debunked (snopes, etc), but it's there as an example.
Bottom line, NASA's problem with the pencil, won't be an issue for you walking in the woods...
JM
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