A California man who wanted to fly to the edge of space to see if the Earth is round has died in the crash-landing of his homemade rocket.
“Mad” Mike Hughes, as he was known, was killed on Saturday while filming a stunt for the Science Channel series “Homemade Astronauts,” in which the 64-year-old daredevil was set to star.
The DIY rocketeer built and piloted his first crewed capsule in early 2014: Hughes flew 1,374 feet in just over one minute; he collapsed after landing and took three days to recover.
In 2016, Hughes attempted to fundraise for a new rocket, earning a measly $310. Later that year, after professing his belief in a flat Earth and gaining support from the conspiratorial community, he managed to meet his funding goal of $7,875.
His plan, as described by the Associated Press, was to make multiple rocket journeys, culminating in a flight to outer space, where he believed he could snap a photo of our planet as a flat disc.
In 2018, Hughes told the AP that he believed the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee.
“Do I know for sure? No,” he said at the time. “That’s why I want to go up in space.”
The flat-Earth argument, however, was nothing more than “a PR stunt,” BuzzFeed News reported.
“He was a true daredevil decades before the latest round of rocket missions,” public relations representative Darren Shuster told the site. “Flat Earth allowed us to get so much publicity that we kept going. I know he didn’t believe in flat Earth and it was a schtick.”
Charade or not, the theory eventually got Hughes killed.
Following two aborted launches, the former limousine driver successfully released his steam-powered rocket in March 2018, reaching 1,875 feet before making a hard landing in the Mojave Desert.
Another self-launch planned for August 2019 was postponed twice due to mechanical troubles then heat exhaustion.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, Hughes managed to once more send himself toward orbit. But this time, during launch, the rocket’s landing parachute appeared to deploy early and detach from the craft.
In a (frankly distressing) video of the incident shared by freelance writer Justin Chapman, the chute rips off almost immediately after launch, leaving the rocket to plummet to the ground as onlookers gasp.
“It was unsuccessful, and he passed away,” collaborator Waldo Stakes told the Associated Press.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed the incident.
“A man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert during a rocket launch event,” according to a statement to the AP. “Medical aid was staged for the launch and was on scene immediately.”
More on Geek.com:
- ‘Flat Earthers’ Planning Bizarre Antarctica Trip to Prove Planet’s Shape
- Dubai Daredevil Sets Jetpack World Record
- Watch Robot Dog Spot Pull Adam Savage in a Rickshaw
from Geek.com https://ift.tt/2w3p3vD
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment