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Burning Twin Towers From Space
On the morning of September 11 2001 there was only one American off-planet – Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson.
While 220 miles above the Earth aboard the International Space Station, Culbertson took incredible pictures of the Twin Towers after they were struck by the hijacked jets.
The station was passing over New York at the time of the attacks and it had a profound effect on the astronaut.
Unique view: Frank Culbertson took this picture of the 9/11 attacks from the International Space Station. He was the only American off-planet at the time:
In a public message to his countrymen, he wrote the following day: ‘It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point.
‘The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the Earth and watching life being destroyed by such wilful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are.’
Culbertson explained that upon learning of the attacks he rushed around the station until he found a window that would give him a view of New York and grabbed the nearest camera.
He said: ‘The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city.
‘I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…’
Nasa was asked to monitor the area above Manhattan after the Twin Towers came down and its satellite photographs the smoke rising from Ground Zero the following day.
Culbertson also wrote of his anguish at being separated from his friends and family at such a tragic time.
He said: ‘It's difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming.’
Amazingly, it can be seen with the naked eye as it passes above at a distance of between 173 and 286 miles.
It travels at around 17,000mph, which means it orbits the Earth 15 times a day.
Nasa monitored the site of the attack: This image was taken by the Landsat 7 satellite on September 12. Smoke can clearly be seen streaming away from Ground Zero:
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