Revisiting the horror: NASA shares pics of 9/11 attacks taken from space

Washington, Sep 12: NASA recently shared images of the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 taken from the International Space Station (ISS), after hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Centre. This year was the 21st anniversary of the dastard 9/11 terror attacks by Al-Qaeda.

Astronaut Frank Culbertson was aboard the International Space Station at the time of the attacks, and the only American on the crew. As soon as he learned of the attacks, he began documenting the event in photographs because the station was flying over the New York City area. He captured incredible images in the minutes and hours following the event. From his unique vantage point in space, he recorded his thoughts of the world changing beneath him. Take a look:

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," he wrote. 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."

NASA science programs were called into action after September 11, 2001, as the agency worked with FEMA to fly sensors over the affected areas on aircraft looking for aerial contaminants and used satellite resources to monitor from above.

The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by the militant Islamic extremist network al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 which led to the deaths of 3,000 people. On this day, the hijackers used commercial planes as missiles and crashed into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field that killed nearly 3,000 people and toppled the trade center's 110-story twin towers.

At a memorial event held on Sunday, US President Joe Biden reflected on the how the 9/11 attacks changed the country forever.

"The American story itself changed that day. What we cannot change, never will, is the character of this nation the attackers sought to wound," he was quoted as saying by AFP. "The character of sacrifice and love, of generosity and grace, of strength and resilience."