A retired astronaut has described phoning down to Earth from his third expedition to the International Space Station to give the crew’s doctor the team’s results for a routine medical.
In a Channel 4 documentary series about the lives of astronauts in space, Mr Colbertson recalls Dr Hart saying, “we’re not having a very good day down here on Earth”.
That day was September 11th 2001, the day of the terrorist attacks that rocked New York. Mr Colbertson managed to pick up a camera to record what he saw from the ISS. A huge column of smoke was visible across Manhattan where a plane had just hit the second of the Twin Towers.
Responding to the view, Mr Colbertson said “I just want the folks in New York to know their city still looks very beautiful from space.”
Channel 4’s Live from Space Season continues tonight at 9pm with Astronauts: Houston We Have a Problem.
