A NASA satellite captured this image of a smoke plume rising from Manhattan on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, shortly after two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. NASA re-released the photo today in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks that rocked New York City and the United States.
"It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point," Station Commander Frank Culbertson of Expedition 3 wrote in an open letter on Sept. 12, 2001.
In the memo, Culbertson also described his initial thoughts as he watched the event unfold from space.
"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."