9/11/23, 11:59 PM NASA Remembers Sept.

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NASA Awards Institutional,

Maintenance, Operations, and Repair
NASA Remembers Sept. 11
Contract The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 were a national tragedy that resulted in
3 months ago a staggering loss of life and a significant change in American culture.
(/press-release/nasa-awards- Each year, we pause and remember. Beyond honoring the Americans
institutional-maintenance-operations- who died that day, NASA also assisted FEMA in New York in the days
and-repair-contract) afterward, and remembered the victims by providing flags flown
aboard the Space Shuttle to their families.
NASA Awards Transformational Shared
Services Support Contract
3 months ago

(/press-release/nasa-awards-
transformational-shared-services-
support-contract)

NASA Names Winners of 2023 Student

Rocket Launch Competition
3 months ago

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of-2023-student-rocket-launch-
competition)

NASA Tops List for Diversity, Equity,

Inclusion in Federal Government (/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/essyse6wkace0di.jpg)
3 months ago NASA astronaut Jessica Meir photographed the New York City area from the
International Space Station in March 2020.
(/feature/nasa-tops-list-for-diversity- Credits: NASA
equity-inclusion-in-federal-
government)

NASA Names New Agency General

Counsel
3 months ago

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agency-general-counsel)

NASA Awards Technical Workforce

Training Contract
3 months ago

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technical-workforce-training-contract)

NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second

Artemis Lunar Lander Provider
4 months ago
(/press-release/nasa-selects-blue-
(/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/34248841655_f4a5427c2f_o.jpg)
From his vantage point aboard the International Space Station, European Space Agency
astronaut Thomas Pesquet photographed the Washington D.C. area on April 11, 2017.
The Pentagon can be seen at the center right of the image.
Credits: ESA/NASA
()

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9/11/23, 11:59 PM NASA Remembers Sept. 11 | NASA

Astronaut Frank Culbertson - The Only American Off the Planet

"The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom

to it at the base of the column that was
streaming south of the city. After reading
one of the news articles we just received,
I believe we were looking at NY around
the time of, or shortly after, the collapse
of the second tower. How horrible…"-
Frank Culbertson

Expedition 3 Commander 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
(/topics/nasalife/features/sept11_1.html) 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.

Watch Video: Culbertson Remembers 9/11

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_embedded&v=16xo5kwY_ME)

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."

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."

Read Culbertson's Full Letter

(/topics/nasalife/features/sept11_culbertson.html)
Video: Station Astronauts Honor 9/11 Victims
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PwndldU7-I)

(/sites/default/files/iss003e5387_full.jpg)
Visible from space, a smoke plume rises from the Manhattan
area after two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade
Center. This photo was taken of metropolitan New York City (and
other parts of New York as well as New Jersey) the morning of
September 11, 2001.

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9/11/23, 11:59 PM NASA Remembers Sept. 11 | NASA
Credits: NASA
Read More
(https://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/sept11_1.html)

NASA Science Programs Monitor the Air

NASA science programs were called into action after Sept. 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.

Flags for Heroes and Families

(/sites/default/files/images/583415main_sts108-
339-020_full.jpg)
STS-108 astronauts Mark Kelly, left, and Dan Tani hold
commemorative American flags the shuttle Endeavour in
December 2001. The flags were later presented to victims'
relatives.
Credits: NASA
Read More
(http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/sept11_flags_on_orbit.html)

NASA flew nearly 6,000 4 by 6 inch flags on Endeavour's flight during

STS-108 to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York,
Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Students working at Johnson
Space Center in Houston, Texas assembled the commemorative
packages, including the U.S. flags flown in space, to be presented to
relatives of the victims. Distribution began on June 14, 2002, National
Flag Day, at a ceremony held at the American Museum of Natural
History's Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York.

"The 'Flags for Heroes and Families' campaign is a way for us to

honor and show our support for the thousands of brave men and
women who have selflessly contributed to the relief and recovery
efforts," said then-NASA Administrator Dan Goldin. "The American
flags are a patriotic symbol of our strength and solidarity, and our
Nation's resolve to prevail."

"NASA wanted to come up with an appropriate tribute to the people

who lost their lives in the tragic events of September 11," added
Goldin. "America's space program has a long history of carrying items
into space to commemorate historic events, acts of courage and
dramatic achievements. 'Flags for Heroes and Families' is a natural
extension of this ongoing outreach project."

Read More About 'Flags for Heroes and Families'→

(http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/releases/2001/01-195.html)
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9/11/23, 11:59 PM NASA Remembers Sept. 11 | NASA

Commemoration Goes to Mars

(/sites/default/files/images/586237main_pia14750-
full_full.jpg)
This view of an American flag on metal recovered from the site of
the World Trade Center towers shortly after their destruction on
Sept. 11, 2001, was taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th
anniversary of the attacks on the towers.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State
University
Read More
(http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/multimedia/pia14750.html)

In September 2001, Honeybee Robotics employees in lower

Manhattan were building a pair of tools for grinding weathered rinds
off rocks on Mars, so that scientific instruments on NASA's Mars
Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity could inspect the rocks'
interiors.

That month's attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, less
than a mile away, shook the lives of the employees and millions of
others.

Work on the rock abrasion tools needed to meet a tight schedule to

allow thorough testing before launch dates governed by the motions
of the planets. The people building the tools could not spend much
time helping at shelters or in other ways to cope with the life-changing
tragedy of Sept. 11. However, they did find a special way to pay
tribute to the thousands of victims who perished in the attack.

An aluminum cuff serving as a cable shield on each of the rock

abrasion tools on Mars was made from aluminum recovered from the
destroyed World Trade Center towers. The metal bears the image of
an American flag and fills a renewed purpose as part of solar system
exploration.

One day, both rovers will be silent. In the cold, dry environments
where they have worked on Mars, the onboard memorials to victims of
the Sept. 11 attack could remain in good condition for millions of
years.

Read More About the Rovers' 9/11 Tribute

(/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20110908.html)

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9/11/23, 11:59 PM NASA Remembers Sept. 11 | NASA

NASA Kennedy Adds Florida Touch to Sept. 11 Flag

The contributions of NASA and Kennedy Space Center were stitched

into the fabric of one of the nation's most recognizable symbols, when
flags from Florida's Spaceport were sewn into an American Flag
recovered near ground zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

(/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/518814main_2011-
1495.jpg)
The National 9/11 Flag was raised over the Rocket Garden at the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex after Florida's
contribution was added.
Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett

"A few days after the collapse of the World Trade Center this flag was
hanging on a scaffolding at 90 West Street, which was a building
directly south of the World Trade Center that was heavily damaged
when the south tower collapsed," said Jeff Parness, director, founder
and chairman of the "New York Says Thank You Foundation."

The flag went on to become one of the most enduring symbols of the
recovery from the attack. "The National 9/11 Flag
(https://national911flag.org/)" is a permanent part of the collection of
the National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade
Center site. There, America's flag can evoke a sense of pride, unity
and hunger to keep achieving greatness, just as the nation's space
program has for more than half a century.

Read More (/centers/kennedy/news/national911flag.html)

Video: Kennedy Adds Florida Touch to 9/11 Flag
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYNhPevVkk)

Last Updated: Sep 11, 2023

Editor: Yvette Smith

Tags: Expedition 3
(/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition03/index.html)

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