宇航员目睹911撞击 航拍照重现恶梦

On the morning of September 11 2001 there was only one American off-planet – Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson.

2001年9月11日的早上，在美国的宇航飞船上，只有指挥官弗兰克·卡本特森一人。

While 220 miles above the Earth aboard the International Space Station, Culbertson took incredible pictures of the Twin Towers after they were struck by the hijacked jets.

在距离地球220英里的航空站，卡本特森看到了难以置信的画面，世贸中心的姊妹楼被劫持的飞机撞毁了。

The station was passing over New York at the time of the attacks and it had a profound effect on the astronaut.

在袭击发生的时候，卡本特森正好飞过纽约的上空，这使得他很清楚的看到了袭击后的场面。

In a public message to his countrymen, he wrote the following day: ‘It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point.

在给同胞的信息说，他这样说：“看到那些烟从那样一个雄伟的建筑物中倾斜出简直太可怕了。”

‘The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the Earth and watching life being destroyed by such wilful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are.’

“宇航员生活的二重性就在于他们既能感受到地球的进化，同时也能看到地球被任意可怕的行为毁坏。”

Culbertson explained that upon learning of the attacks he rushed around the station until he found a window that would give him a view of New York and grabbed the nearest camera.

他还解释说当他意识到袭击发生时，他急忙冲进空间站人后抓住一部最近的相机，找到一扇能够看到纽约的窗户准备拍照。

He said: ‘The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city.

他说，“那些烟好象是个奇怪的花的形状，并向城市的南边蔓延。”

‘I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…’

Nasa was asked to monitor the area above Manhattan after the Twin Towers came down and its satellite photographs the smoke rising from Ground Zero the following day.

在姊妹楼倒塌之后，美国宇航局监控着曼哈顿上空的地区。第二天他们的卫星也拍下来了烟雾上升的照片。

Culbertson also wrote of his anguish at being separated from his friends and family at such a tragic time.

在和朋友以及家人分离后，卡尔特森也书写了他的痛苦。

He said: ‘It's difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming.’

他说，“当时简直无法描述作为唯一一个美国人在天空中看到全场景的过程的感觉。那种我希望和你们在一起，一起面对困难，一起帮助他人的感觉是那样的强烈。”