9/11: Rare photo by NASA captures aftermath of September 2001 attack from space

Paying homage to first-responders, and remembering those who died in the attack, NASA shared images taken from space.

New Delhi | September 12, 2020 11:41 PM IST

3 min read

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Visible from space, smoke plume rises from the Manhattan area after two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. (Photo: NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson)

Nineteen years after a terrorist attack in the heart of New York City took the lives of 3,000 people, images from the fateful morning of September 11, 2001, have reinvoked memories of one of the worst-ever terror attacks in recent history.

Paying homage to first-responders, and remembering those who died in the attack, NASA has shared images taken from space. One such by astronaut Frank Culbertson, aboard the International Space Station at the time of the attack, documents the event when the station was flying over the New York City area.

In the image he captured (above), smoke can be seen rising from Manhattan area after two hijacked planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in an attack planned by Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

The following day, Culbertson, the only American aboard the ISS at the time of 9/11, wrote an open letter describing his thoughts as the even unfolded on ground. “It’s difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this,” he said in the letter.

The New York City area from the International Space Station as on March 2020. (Photo:NASA astronaut Jessica Meir)

“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. And the knowledge that everything will be different than when we launched by the time we land is a little disconcerting,” he said.

On September 11, 2020, the world joined the United States to mourn the victims of the terror attack on its 19th sombre anniversary.

Remembering 9/11: Some rare pics

This undated photo provided by the FBI shows damage to the Pentagon caused during the 9/11 attacks. (FBI via AP)

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, two passenger planes ploughed into the World Trade Centre (WTC) towers in New York, the financial capital of the Unites States. (Archive)

The spot where the two towers stood was called “Ground Zero”. Seen here are mourners standing close to the site during the third anniversary memorial for victims of 9/11. (Reuters)

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