NASA has shared a poignant letter from the only American not on Earth when 9/11 happened.
Space Station astronaut Frank Culbertson penned his thoughts in the hours and days after the terrorist attack on New York’s Twin Towers.
He also captured the scene on camera from 250 miles up, with a chilling image showing a smoke plume rising from the Manhattan area.
I had no idea … “He described the situation to me as best he knew it at ~0900 CDT.
“I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera.
The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming.
Not just for the thousands and thousands of people directly affected by these horrendous acts of terrorism, but probably for all of us.
We will find ourselves feeling differently about dozens of things, including probably space exploration, unfortunately.
“It’s horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point.
The two had been aeronautical engineering majors together, and had both gone on to become F-4 fighter pilots.
NASA released a heartfelt letter written by the lone American who wasn’t on the planet on 9/11.
Frank Culbertson, an astronaut on board the Space Station, wrote down his thoughts in the hours and days following the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.
He also took a terrifying picture of the scene from 250 miles above the ground, depicting a plume of smoke rising from the Manhattan region.
“The following is the text of a letter from Expedition Three Commander Frank L.,” the space agency stated on Tuesday. Retired USN Captain Culbertson, considering the events of September 11. “.
The spaceman’s response to learning about the attack and his subsequent emotional processing are chronicled in this heartbreaking letter.
“Clearly, the world changed today,” he wrote in his letter. They were having a terrible day on the ground, the flight surgeon informed me. I was unaware of this.
As of approximately 0900 CDT, he gave me an account of the situation. I was first shocked, then appalled. My initial reaction was that I was still listening to one of my Tom Clancy tapes and that this wasn’t a real conversation.
In our nation, it simply didn’t seem feasible on this scale. Even before the reports of additional devastation started to come in, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the specifics.
I quickly circled the station in search of a window that would allow me to see New York City, at which point I grabbed the closest camera. I was looking south through the window of Michael’s (Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin) cabin when I noticed it was a video camera.
“The base of the column that was streaming south of the city appeared to have an unusual bloom to the smoke.”. We were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the second tower collapse, based on what I’ve read in one of the news articles we just received. What a horror.
“There aren’t enough words to express how it feels to be the only American on Earth at this particular moment. It’s an overwhelming feeling that I should be here supporting each of you while you deal with this and offering any assistance.
“We are about to experience a catastrophic change in global history, or perhaps we have already passed it. After September 11, 2001, a lot of things will never be the same. Not only for the countless numbers of individuals who have been directly impacted by these heinous acts of terrorism, but most likely for all of us. We’re going to discover that we have different opinions on a wide range of topics, regrettably including space travel.
“It’s terrible to witness smoke emanating from injuries in your own nation from such an amazing position.
The most overpowering feeling I have here is isolation, even more so than the emotional impact of thousands of our citizens and possibly some friends being killed in an attack on our country. “.
It was later revealed to Frank that Charles Burlingame, a classmate at the Naval Academy, had piloted the aircraft that struck the Pentagon during takeoff.
After majoring in aeronautical engineering together, the two went on to become F-4 fighter pilots.
