When the Twin Towers' infamous collapse happened, there was an astronaut who had seen the huge explosion from space. On Mar. 11, the tragic video was shared on TikTok.
The Only Witness of the Twin Towers Collapse From Space
On September 11, 2001, one witness of the 9/11 bombing was Frank Culbertson, who was dubbed as the "only US citizen not on earth" to see the incident. The video was posted by Independent.
About 2,977 people died due to the bombing, and more than 25,000 individuals were injured. But millions were traumatized. This event not only ignited fear in many people but it triggered an international terror in war.
Culbertson, a South Carolina native who was only 52 years old at the time, was aboard the STS-105 Discovery, which was a part of the Expedition Three crew. They started their journey on August 10, 2001.
Less than a month later, New York City has been exposed to multiple attacks involving airplanes. As a result, the space station underwent a 250-mile suspension above the planet and his two Russian companions.
When the operator said that they would not have a "good day" down on Earth, Culbertson started to speculate and later learned about the tragic news.
During the manmade disaster, the Pentagon and the Twin towers received the most damage, and there were also reports of a plane crashing down.
A documentary starring Culbertson emerged in a reposted TikTok clip, which already made rounds in social media. He added that during that time, they never knew what's coming because the weather was beautiful.
In a 2014 documentary entitled "Astronauts: Houston We Have a Problem," Culbertson stated that it was already clear to him that the United States was still under terrorist attack.
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How Culbertson Described The Twin Tower Collapse From Space
"I could easily see New York City - a big black column of smoke coming out of the city, and as I zoomed in with the video camera, I could see this big grey blob enveloping southern Manhattan," Culbertson said in a report by MSN.
The American aviator continued that he rushed to see that the video camera was facing the right direction. Later, a confirmation appeared that the "big grey blob" that they witnessed was the sign when the second tower caved in.
Culbertson was sure that the tragedy was persistently ravaging the city, and all that he could say was that they saw the New York City and the big smoke. He said that they wanted to pay respect to those who departed after the tragic 9/11 bombing until this day.
The airplane codenamed the American Airlines Flight 77 was driven by Culbertson's classmate in Naval Academy, Charles Burlingame. It was the same aircraft that crashed into the Pentagon.
"It's important to continue to learn the lessons from this and make sure we are in fact making ourselves a better country as a result of it, not regressing or turning inward or changing into a society we won't be proud to pass on to our grandchildren or great-grandchildren," Culbertson narrated his experience in the documentary.
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Written by Joen Coronel
