New York City on September 11, 2001
Visible from space, a smoke plume rises from the Manhattan area after two
planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center. This photo was taken
of metropolitan New York City (and other parts of New York as well as New
Jersey) the morning of September 11, 2001. "Our prayers and thoughts go out to
all the people there, and everywhere else," said Station Commander Frank
Culbertson of Expedition 3, after the terrorists' attacks.
The following
day, he posted a public letter that captured his initial thoughts of the events
as they unfolded. "The world changed today. What I say or do is very minor
compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was
attacked."
Upon further reflection, Culbertson said, "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 willful, terrible acts is
jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are."
› Culbertson's Letter
from Sept. 11, 2001
› 2010 Video:
Frank Culbertson Remembers 9/11 Ten Years Later