Daredevil flat-Earth booster dies in homemade rocket crash, California officials say
Daredevil and flat-Earth promoter “Mad” Mike Hughes died Saturday when his homemade rocket crashed near Barstow, California, NBC News reports.
A steam-powered rocket, which Hughes had hoped would reach an altitude of 5,000 feet, plunged back to Earth and crashed following the launch, CBS News reported.
“Everyone was stunned. They didn’t know what to do,” said Justin Chapman, the Los Angeles Times reported. “He landed about a half a mile away from the launch pad.”
The Science Channel filmed the launch for an upcoming series on homemade rocket enthusiasts, Space.com reported.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike Hughes’ family and friends during this difficult time. It was always his dream to do this launch, and Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey,” a Twitter post by the channel reads.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies reported responding to a fatal rocket crash off Highway 247 near Barstow, according to CNN.
A video posted to Twitter shows the rocket crashing to the ground after a parachute appears to separate from the craft, The San Bernardino Sun reported.
“The parachute ripped off at launch,” Chapman said, the Los Angeles Times reported. “So the rocket went straight up in an arc and came straight down.”
Hughes, 64, successfully reached an altitude of 1,800 feet in an earlier rocket in March 2018, CBS News reported. That launch was intended to help prove his theory that the Earth is flat.
“The Flat Earth thing is like everything else to me,” he said at the time, according to the network. “I just want people to question everything. Question what your congressman is doing, your city council. Question what really happened during the Civil War. What happened during 9/11.”
Saturday’s launch was intended to help raise money to build a future rocket intended to carry Hughes to the boundary of space at 62 miles above the Earth, Space.com reported.
Hughes acknowledged the dangers of his homemade rocket hobby in 2018, noting “you don’t get a lot of second chances,” CBS News reported.
“This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways,” Hughes said at the time, NBC News reported. “This thing will kill you in a heartbeat.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2020 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Daredevil flat-Earth booster dies in homemade rocket crash, California officials say."