Mass Effect 3 space promotion is a go, equipment used donated to Texas A&M

BioWare's Mass Effect 3 space-promotion is a go, and over in San Francisco at the first launch site, G4 reported that the first package went off without a hitch at 7.00am PST.

The first package contained 10 copies of the game, split equally between PS3 and Xbox 360 and the second launch went off around 9.00am PST.

The landing time for each location is three to four hours. and the first package should land somewhere in Santa Cruz, CA providing Mother Nature doesn't decide to send it someplace else.

While all of this sounds like BioWare's having a good time promoting its new game, there's more charitable reason behind it as well: the launches are being handled by Texas A&M students who are participants in the High Altitude Balloon Club and they get to keep all of the EA-donated equipment used to launch the games into the stratosphere.

The equipment will be used by the students to study the Aurora Borealis in Alaska after it's finished playing with Mass Effect 3 discs, and the data collected will be used to study weather patterns and how best to protect satellites from solar flares.

Mass Effect 3 releases on March 6 in the US, March 8 in Australia, and March 9 in Europe, for PC, PS 3 and Xbox 360.