A Steam Deck Helped Me Endure Artemis 1’s Failure to Launch

When I tell people part of my job is covering rocket launches, it makes my work seem glamorous. And sure, it’s amazing to see one in person—I can’t describe the rush, the feeling of seeing something leave Earth, knowing it’s bound for things beyond the confines of our planet.

But mostly, it’s just a whole lot of sitting around. What gets hidden behind the mystique of being a space reporter is … all the waiting. Rocket launches are boring for hours, days, sometimes even weeks—and it’s all worth it for the minutes you watch it lift off.

The thing is, you never know what’s going to happen until you get there. The week before last, I traveled down to the Space Coast of Florida to hopefully see the launch of Artemis I in person. The Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s new moon rocket, is one of the most powerful in human history, and I wanted to be there for its initial liftoff.

I arrived bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and full of optimism that SLS was indeed going to take off as scheduled on August 29. That never happened. Instead, the ensuing days were spent seeing friends and trying to plan coverage for a launch that kept getting delayed (I was there as a freelancer, and was largely looking to write post-launch pieces about why it matters, because it does matter)—and playing video games.

Until the Steam Deck, I wasn’t a huge fan of portable gaming. I enjoy my Nintendo Switch, but there have never been enough must-have titles to make it an essential travel bag item. The Steam Deck is different, though. I’m on the road a lot for work, and it has gone everywhere with me—including to the SLS launch.

To watch SLS fly at 8:33 am Eastern, when the launch window opened, I had to wake up—let me repeat that, I had to wake up—at 11:30 pm. The crowds were expected to be massive, up to 200,000 people, and I didn’t want to miss the prelaunch events because I was stuck in traffic. Also, there were 700 members of the press accredited for this launch, and let me tell you how the press parking lot and bullpen at Kennedy Space Center cannot hold that many people. I didn’t want to end up in a Hunger Games situation for parking and a seat, so early/late it was.