Look at what the Chinese armed forces

[Bugfatty]

Keep in mind that the price of $3 (actually $2.95 according to snopes) isn't adjusted for inflation.

At $3 per pen NASA definitely paid for the development costs in the end. Just as companies don't pay taxes, they pass them on to the consumer.

Also according to snopes, it cost the company over $1 million to develop the pen but they only sold 400 of them. I'd say NASA didn't come close to covering the space pen's development cost.