The coffee and donuts were ready, the Artemis 1 decorations hung on the walls, and NASA's live feed was on the screen at Dallas College's Richland Campus as students in the STEM League gathered to witness history.
"What are y'all studying," Dallas College STEM Institute Director Dr. Jason Treadway asked those gathered.
"Aerospace," one student replied.
The window to launch the unmanned Artemis 1 opened at 7:33 a.m. locally, but it was followed by an announcement: The mission was scrubbed for Monday.
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"The mission has been scrubbed," Treadway told students. "So for those that don't know 'NASA speak', that means it's not happening today."
ARTEMIS 1
NASA cited a problem with one of the engines as the reason.
"You know, this is just part of the space business. We are stressing and testing this rocket, this spacecraft, in a way that you would never do it with a human crew onboard," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. "You don't want to light the candle before it's ready to go."
The lesson for students: It takes patience and perfection to get a launch right.
"We'll retry on Friday," Treadway said shrugging.
NASA's next window to launch Artemis 1 is Friday.
