Astronaut Grissom letter fails to sell at auction

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A letter written by Mercury 7 astronaut Gus Grissom that exposes resentment over the pick of John Glenn as the first American to orbit the Earth has failed to sell at auction.

The October 1961 letter to his mother had a high bid of $13,155 in the online sale run by RR Auction of Amherst, N.H. Before the auction ended Thursday, company officials estimated it could bring $80,000.

A spokesman said Friday that because the minimum price was not offered, the letter was withdrawn.

In the letter, Grissom divulges the flight crew for the first orbital mission. He writes: "All of us are mad because Glenn was picked."

Grissom died with two other astronauts in a launch pad fire while preparing for an Apollo mission in 1967.

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