Chilling clip shows the moment astronaut observed the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11

The tragic 9/11 attacks are seared into the memories of countless Americans. While many witnessed the horror up close, only one American, NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, saw it unfold from space. As commander of the International Space Station’s Expedition 3 in 2001, Culbertson and his two Russian crewmates caught a distant but gut-wrenching view of the smoke rising from the World Trade Center. On the anniversary of the attack, NASA released the haunting footage Culbertson captured as the ISS passed over New York City.

The footage, though blurry from hundreds of miles above Earth, clearly shows the massive clouds of smoke rising from the Twin Towers. Even from space, the devastation was unmistakable and Culbertson couldn't believe his eyes. "I realized our country was under attack," said the astronaut, recalling his feelings 10 years later. "Once I saw it out the window, we took the video as the second tower was collapsing," he mentioned and added, "I didn't know exactly what was happening, but I knew it was really bad because there was a big cloud of debris covering Manhattan."

Watching from space as his country was attacked, Culbertson said, "That's when it really became painful because it was like seeing a wound in the side of your country." The video of a 2014 documentary, "Astronauts: Houston We Have a Problem," has recently resurfaced on the internet and people are shocked to see the visuals of the disastrous day from the astronauts' point of view. In the viral video shared by Everything Fly (@everythingaerovation) on Instagram, an operator can be heard reporting to Culbertson, "Well, Frank, we're not having a very good day down here on earth."

Culbertson recalled in the documentary that it was a “perfectly clear” day, and when they zoomed in on New York City, the smoke was starkly visible. As he recorded the footage, Culbertson sent a heartfelt message to the American people: "Our prayers and thoughts go out to all the people there and everywhere else. I'm looking up and down the East Coast to see if I can see anything else."

As Culbertson watched the attacks from space, a wave of emotions hit him. "As the reality sunk in, some fear that some family member or someone close to me might be affected by this and then the realization that thousands of people really were affected and then eventually that turned into anger at some point that someone would do this to us," Culbertson told NASA.

The astronaut added that he found that the country had drastically changed in terms of security upon arrival after the ISS expedition. He added, "I think it's important for people to continue to learn the lessons from this and make sure that we are in fact making ourselves a better country as a result of it." As per MailOnline, a few hours after the attack, Culbertson also learned the heartbreaking news of his close friend's death. He was a pilot at the controls of one of the hijacked planes. It was a day Culbertson will never forget in his life. 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 16, 2024. It has since been updated.