A powerful photograph taken from orbit 25 years ago provides a stark reminder of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, commanding the International Space Station at approximately 250 miles above Earth’s surface, captured an image showing a massive column of smoke rising from Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. The photograph remains one of the most striking visual records of that devastating day.
On the morning of 9/11, al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial aircraft. Two planes struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, ultimately causing both structures to collapse. A third aircraft hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while passengers on a fourth plane fought back against their hijackers, preventing an attack on Washington D.C. The coordinated attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths across multiple locations.
Culbertson was the only American citizen not on Earth during the attacks. In letters written days after the tragedy, he described the emotional weight of witnessing his country’s suffering from such a unique vantage point. He noted that one of the most striking observations from orbit was the sudden disappearance of airplane contrails across the United States following the grounding of commercial flights, with the sole exception being Air Force One carrying President Bush back to Washington.
Originally reported by Livescience →
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