The inflight instructions astronaut John Glenn used on the Mercury 6 mission headlined Nate D Sanders' July 21 auction.
They realised $66,993, well above the reserve price of $25,000.
 John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth |
The 1962 mission saw Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth.
The paper was attached to a pair of bobbins, forming a scroll that Glenn could wind on as the mission advanced.
The auction house comments: "All data on the instructions was personally used by Glenn to confirm the capsule's flight path during its 4 hour and 55 minute mission, instructing Glenn at which point to take photos in flight…
"The in-flight instructions were given by Glenn to Frogman Richard 'Dick' Dunham of UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) as a thank you memento for his work with Mercury 6."
We have some incredible space and aviation memorabilia for sale.
There was an eclectic choice of pieces offered in the auction, including an autographed message sent from Malcolm X to comedian Redd Foxx in 1964.
It's written on the back of a postcard showing a chimpanzee at Miami's Monkey Jungle.
It reads: ''One hundred years have passed since the Civil War, and these chimpanzees get more recognition, respect & freedom in American than our people do, because even the monkeys that lead them have more sense than the monkeys that lead us."
The lot sold for $4,000.
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