The laptop computer which Bill Clinton used to send the first presidential email has appeared in an eBay auction, which will close November 11.

Clinton was the first president to watch the launch of a space shuttle live

The computer actually belonged to White House physician Commander Robert Darling, who loaned it to President Clinton so that he could reply to a message from astronaut John Glenn. Glenn, who was aged 77 at the time, was in space testing the effects of space flight on the elderly. Not only was this the first presidential email, it was also the first to be sent into space.

A man of many firsts, Clinton had watched the launch of the space shuttle Discovery on October 29 live from the site, becoming the first president ever to do so. Glenn emailed the president in thanks for his attendance while in orbit around Earth on November 6, 1998, with the president responding on November 7, the day that Glenn landed safely back to Earth.

Clinton remarked in a 2000 interview that he prefers not to send emails

The Toshiba Satellite Pro, which is expected to reach $125,000 by the time the auction closes, still contains the email on its hard drive and will be accompanied in the sale by a range of supporting documentation. Included is the original press release which the White House issued to mark the president's first email, as well as a signed photograph of the president using the computer, inscribed to Darling.