LEGO Mindstorms ready for Tuesday space launch

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of LEGO Mindstorms, a group of professors, middle-school students, and corporate nerds will be launching several Mindstorms robots into near-space. The High Altitude LEGO Extravaganza (HALE) project will set the robots aloft in an atmospheric weather balloon shortly before sunrise this morning outside of Reno, Nevada. At about 100,000 feet (30km) the balloon will burst and the robots will parachute back to terra firma collecting data and photographs along the way. One robot named Lil' Joe will attempt a world record free-fall decent before deploying its parachute on a pre-programmed schedule. Mind you, the world record is attributable to Mindstorms NXT free-fall, a title we expect is currently held by your little brother sleeping upstairs.

Read -- HALE
Read -- HALE launch tracking

[neoanime Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:06AM]

Star Wars Lego Fights anybody?

[NvizioN801 Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:17AM]

Fights? As in tangled up parachutes?

[CL Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:11AM]

I would sh!t in my pants if that picture was real.

[monkeyontherun4 Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:21AM]

well prepare to shit.. because that is a real picture

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:50AM]

Is this the latest picture from the Iranian press agency? It looks about as real as the missile launches from a couple of weeks ago.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 5:10AM]

Photoshopped you say, no, look at the authenticity of the smoke.

[Hellios Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:38AM]

Should have been Operation instead of Extravaganza hurrr

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:44AM]

i think that they should start launching submersible mindstorms legos into the deep sea

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 5:54AM]

OMG is that Johnny 5?

[rock99rock Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:04AM]

Johnny 5 ALIVE!!!!

[maty Posted Jul 29th 2008 7:54AM]

I for one welcome our new, LEGO space overlords.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 7:59AM]

THIS LOOKS SHOPPED
I know because I've seen many pixels in my day

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 9:09AM]

WaaaAAaaaaaaaAAALLLLL-EEeeEEEeeeeeeeEE

[Boh Posted Jul 29th 2008 9:43AM]

near-space? I'm near-interested.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:51AM]

ORANGE TRANSPARENT CHAINSAW

[Graham Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:53AM]

Its Burning Man comes to Florida.

[Graham Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:54AM]

ha, my bad, Arizona.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 3:49PM]

Hmm... let's see... something about space, called HALE... ah, I remember! Hale-Bopp!