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 @ Jul 29th 2008 4:06AM]

Star Wars Lego Fights anybody?

[leak @ Jul 29th 2008 4:17AM]

Fights? As in tangled up parachutes?

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

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

[Ian @ Jul 29th 2008 4:21AM]

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

[ShadowMaker @ 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.

[deyanimay @ Jul 29th 2008 5:10AM]

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

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

Should have been Operation instead of Extravaganza hurrr

[FoxDie @ Jul 29th 2008 4:44AM]

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

[Carsten @ Jul 29th 2008 5:54AM]

OMG is that Johnny 5?

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

Johnny 5 ALIVE!!!!

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

I for one welcome our new, LEGO space overlords.

[neofolklore @ Jul 29th 2008 7:59AM]

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

[John @ Jul 29th 2008 9:09AM]

WaaaAAaaaaaaaAAALLLLL-EEeeEEEeeeeeeeEE

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 29th 2008 9:43AM]

near-space? I'm near-interested.

[andres @ Jul 29th 2008 10:51AM]

ORANGE TRANSPARENT CHAINSAW

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

Its Burning Man comes to Florida.

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

ha, my bad, Arizona.

[cycletronic @ Jul 29th 2008 3:49PM]

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