>...They used wax pencils, or crayons as we call them, until they got the space pen technology without spending on it.
It looks like both the Soviet Union and NASA got their pens from Fisher:
>...the Fisher pen was developed using private capital, not government funding. The development of the thixotropic ink cost Paul Fisher around $1 million (equivalent to $8.6 million in 2021).[4] NASA – and the Soviets[3][5][6] – eventually began purchasing such pens.
It looks like both the Soviet Union and NASA got their pens from Fisher:
>...the Fisher pen was developed using private capital, not government funding. The development of the thixotropic ink cost Paul Fisher around $1 million (equivalent to $8.6 million in 2021).[4] NASA – and the Soviets[3][5][6] – eventually began purchasing such pens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen