Daredevil Dies in Failed Homemade Rocket Launch to Prove Earth Is Flat
"Mad" Mike Hughes, a daredevil and prominent supporter of the flat-Earth theory, died February 22 after his homemade rocket crashed into the ground.
The rocketeer hoped to reach the Kármán line, the point at which Earth's atmosphere and outer space meet, about 62,000 feet above the surface of the globe.
In 2018, Hughes strapped into and launched a similar rocket, reaching heights of nearly 1,900 feet before crash-landing in the Nevada desert.
Daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes died Saturday, February 22 after his homemade rocket crashed into the ground outside of Barstow, California. Hughes launched himself inside the steam-powered rocket in hopes that he might sail high enough into the atmosphere to prove that the Earth is flat. He was 64.
Several journalists, along with many of the rocketeer’s friends—including longtime collaborator Wade Stakes, according to The Washington Post—were on hand to witness the launch and sadly captured its swift failure. Freelance journalist Justin Chapman tweeted a video of the crash. (Warning: Some viewers may find the video disturbing.)
Seconds after launch, a parachute can be seen fluttering away from the speeding rocket, which quickly turned back toward Earth. “When the rocket was nosediving and he didn't release the three other parachutes he had in the rocket, lots of people screamed out and started wailing,” Chapman told BuzzFeed News. “Everyone was stunned when he crashed and didn't know what to do.”
Hughes aimed to reach the Kármán Line, where Earth's atmosphere and outer space meet, 62 miles above the ground. From there, Hughes claimed he'd be able to tell whether the Earth is a flat disk (as he suspected) or a sphere. The steam-driven rocket included three heaters that would produce enough steam to thrust the stuntman at least 5,000 feet into the air. He hoped to reach top speeds of up to 425 miles per hour.
The limousine driver-turned-daredevil got his start by conducting a series of high-octane stunts that shocked and enthralled viewers. Hughes is the Guinness World Record holder for the longest limousine ramp jump (103 feet in a stretch Lincoln Town Car) and has gained fame over the years for performing a series of other stunts. A 2014 rocket launch took him to 1,374 feet, according to Associated Press reports at the time.
In recent years, Hughes's efforts turned toward unraveling a conspiracy theory that has endured for centuries.
"Do I believe the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee? I believe it is,” Hughes told the AP shortly before a May 2018 rocket launch. “Do I know for sure? No. That’s why I want to go up in space.” During that launch, Hughes reached just under 1,900 feet before crash-landing in the same Nevada desert. (In a later interview with Space, he insisted his reasoning for launching into space was not connected to his belief that the Earth is flat.)
Hughes had recently partnered with Discovery’s Science Channel, which planned to feature his project on their new series titled “Homemade Astronauts,” the channel said in a statement. The network was on hand for the launch and released a statement shortly after the crash.
"People ask me why I do stuff like this," Hughes said toward the end of a promo video shot by the Science Channel, "and basically it's just to convince people they can do things extraordinary with their lives, and maybe it pushes people do things that they normally wouldn't do with their life, and maybe it'll inspire someone else."
You Might Also Like
Solve the daily Crossword
