Chilling clip shows the moment astronaut observed the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11 from space

One of the most dreadful days etched in the minds of every American is the disastrous 9/11 attacks. While many witnessed the series of attacks from a proximity, only one American watched it from space and despite the distance, it was still gut-wrenching. NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson was the commander of the three-men crew of International Space Station Expedition 3 in 2001. He and his two Russian crew members caught a glimpse of the raging fire that engulfed the World Trade Centre on the fateful day. On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, NASA released the chilling footage captured by Culbertson as the ISS flew right above New York City.

The video shows the blurry visuals of the New York City coastline and one can easily spot the humongous clouds of smoke rising from the Twin Towers. They caught the visuals from hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface, which explains the blurriness. Despite the monumental distance, the attack was clearly visible in space and Culbertson couldn't believe his eyes. "I realized our country was under attack," said the astronaut, recalling his feelings 10 years later. "Once I saw it out the window, we took the video as the second tower was collapsing," he mentioned and added, "I didn't know exactly what was happening, but I knew it was really bad because there was a big cloud of debris covering Manhattan."

As someone watching from a distance his country being attacked, Culbertson said, "That's when it really became painful because it was like seeing a wound in the side of your country." The video of a 2014 documentary, "Astronauts: Houston We Have a Problem," has recently resurfaced on the internet and people are shocked to see the visuals of the disastrous day from the astronauts' point of view. In the viral video shared by Everything Fly (@everythingaerovation) on Instagram, an operator can be heard reporting to Culbertson, "Well, Frank, we're not having a very good day down here on earth."

The astronaut recalled in the documentary that the weather was "perfectly clear" on that day and when their camera zoomed in on New York City, the blob of smoke was clearly visible. While recording the footage, Culbertson shared a message to the Americans, saying, "Our prayers and thoughts go out to all the people there and everywhere else. I'm looking up and down the East Coast to see if I can see anything else."

While watching the 9/11 attacks from space, the astronaut had a rush of overwhelming emotions. "As the reality sunk in, some fear that some family member or someone close to me might be affected by this and then the realization that thousands of people really were affected and then eventually that turned into anger at some point that someone would do this to us," Culbertson told NASA.

The astronaut added how he found on arrival after the ISS expedition that the country had drastically changed in terms of security. He added, "I think it's important for people to continue to learn the lessons from this and make sure that we are in fact making ourselves a better country as a result of it." As per MailOnline, a few hours after the attack, Culbertson also learned the heartbreaking news of his close friend's death. He was a pilot at the controls of one of the hijacked planes. It was a day Culbertson will never forget in his life.