Both superpowers had effectively infinite budgets for the space programs. The difference is, America’s was subject to Congress. The Soviet program was subject to the Party.
And Paul Fisher really just wanted to make a cool pen that can reliably write upside down. Congress and The Party agreed that the pen was cool and bought a couple hundred each.
![[Partially incorrect, see comments.] Pens in Space](https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/466a2af6-4d33-4f93-aa6c-eaaf49ab899f.jpeg){kind=link}
…when your budget is infinite vs when you just want to blast someone into space
Both superpowers had effectively infinite budgets for the space programs. The difference is, America’s was subject to Congress. The Soviet program was subject to the Party.
And Paul Fisher really just wanted to make a cool pen that can reliably write upside down. Congress and The Party agreed that the pen was cool and bought a couple hundred each.