Daredevil Flat Earther died after launching himself on home-made rocket
'Mad' Mike Hughes, the amateur astronaut who wanted to show that the Earth is flat, has died in an attempt to launch himself in a home-made rocket. Hughes needed evidence to prove his theory and had been working to launch himself high enough to collect it. His first two attempts were successful, but the third one ended with his tragic demise. Here's more.
Hughes believed Earth was shaped like a 'frisbee'
A stuntman by profession, Hughes, 64, believed Earth was shaped like a 'frisbee' or disc. However, instead of just boasting this, Hughes wanted to prove it correct by flying into space and photographing the shape of Earth. This led him on a mission to build rockets in his own backyard and attempt launches - an effort that got widespread media attention over the years.
Initial launches were successful
Hughes planned to go higher with every successive launch and, despite some regulatory restrictions due to the launches being unofficial, things went smoothly for him in the beginning. He launched himself up to 1,374 feet in 2014 before going up to a peak altitude of 1,875 feet during a widely covered steam-rocket flight in March 2018.
However, this year's flight brought Mike's effort to tragic end
On February 22, Hughes hoped to continue his mission by going even higher this time around - up to 5,000 feet. However, as soon as the steam-powered rocket he had built in the backyard of his home took off, its parachute ripped off, leading into a high-velocity crash hundreds of meters away from the launch site near Barstow, California.
Dozens of people watched the crash
A crowd of over 50 people witnessed Hughes take off and then hurtle into the desert with no backup safety. Notably, the entire incident was also being filmed by the Science Channel, a Discovery Channel unit, for a documentary on budding amateur astronauts. "It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey," the channel tweeted.
Here's the full tweet from Science Channel
No word on how the chute detached
So far, there is no clarity on how the chute tore and detached from Hughes' rocket. However, the lack of backup safety measures can be explained by limited funds; he carried out this and previous projects mainly through crowdfunding from other flat-Earthers.
